Trust Co. of Vermont Buys 825 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 188.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $3,710,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. The trade was a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $215.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $218.62 and a 200 day moving average of $221.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $105.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.31 and a 52 week high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.