PDS Planning Inc Raises Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $232.01 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $241.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.66.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.