Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) is Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,160 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 0.5% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 9,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $100,925,000 after purchasing an additional 517,510 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.71.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MMC traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $206.44. The company had a trading volume of 220,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,011. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $101.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.37 and a 1-year high of $209.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.97.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

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.