Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 9,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $746,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 532,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,925,000 after purchasing an additional 517,510 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MMC opened at $205.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $200.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.37 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 37.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.