Cynosure Group LLC Has $427,000 Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Cynosure Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 461 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 42,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,058,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 11,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,554,841,000 after acquiring an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 655,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,326,000 after acquiring an additional 24,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $243.72 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $231.26 and its 200-day moving average is $224.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $245.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,397 shares of company stock valued at $15,694,684 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.