GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 1,791 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 30,896.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,000 after buying an additional 9,887 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.9% during the third quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 1,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 24.2% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 19,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Builder Investment Group Inc. ADV raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Builder Investment Group Inc. ADV now owns 40,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% during the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 15,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $200.95 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.47 and a 12 month high of $209.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.90.

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 analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,012,065.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.