Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,834 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.0 %

MMC stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.27. 1,039,890 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,926,955. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.47 and a 1-year high of $209.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 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 business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler downgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. 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, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.