Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 145,134 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.45% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $2,554,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th 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 stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % 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 valued at $13,350,279 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $243.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.18. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.17 and a 12 month high of $245.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.