Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises approximately 0.6% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Bishop Rock Capital L.P. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4,246.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bishop Rock Capital L.P. now owns 3,715,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,935,000 after buying an additional 3,630,413 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,945,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,941,311,000 after buying an additional 1,503,889 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 331.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,830,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,962,000 after buying an additional 1,406,293 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 133.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,297,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,095,000 after buying an additional 740,778 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,313,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,167,702,000 after acquiring an additional 693,039 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $2.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $155.80. 4,917,259 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,871. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $167.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.19. The firm has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.93. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.33 and a fifty-two week high of $183.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 4th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.70, for a total transaction of $503,730.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 75,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,105,143.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.70, for a total transaction of $503,730.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 75,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,105,143.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 3,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $518,790.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,458,880.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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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.