Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP trimmed its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,829 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises about 0.6% of AXQ Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third 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. Amundi boosted its position 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,286,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,170,000 after buying an additional 71,990 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $232.05 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $227.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.