PFG Advisors Sells 361 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

PFG Advisors lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 361 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Amundi grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $235,511,000 after buying an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after acquiring an additional 686,662 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $229.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $241.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.53. The company has a market cap of $112.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.