PGGM Investments Buys 2,079 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $17,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,423,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,696,223,000 after acquiring an additional 61,408 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,278,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,575,881,000 after buying an additional 31,821 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,145,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,169,403,000 after buying an additional 150,655 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,979,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,137,960,000 after buying an additional 271,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,277,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,723,000 after buying an additional 83,785 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.95. 1,783,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,810,961. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $97.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.