Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,602,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,180,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,078,000 after acquiring an additional 10,161 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,381,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,825,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $199.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,039,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,955. The company has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $202.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $171.47 and a 1 year high of $209.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. TD Cowen upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.