Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.6% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,260,000 after buying an additional 3,535 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

MMC opened at $243.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $243.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $229.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

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.