Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) is AKO Capital LLP’s 6th Largest Position

AKO Capital LLP lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,062,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,594 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 6.1% of AKO Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. AKO Capital LLP owned about 0.42% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $438,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

MMC opened at $238.72 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $241.84. The firm has a market cap of $117.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (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, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.