Vinva Investment Management Ltd Grows Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,997 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $13,957,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 144,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,720,000 after acquiring an additional 25,554 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,379.5% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,636 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MMC. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. The stock has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.73.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.