Provence Wealth Management Group Acquires 225 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Provence Wealth Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 532,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,925,000 after purchasing an additional 517,510 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 447,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,064,000 after purchasing an additional 419,000 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 791,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,558,000 after buying an additional 298,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,979,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,137,960,000 after buying an additional 271,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $199.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,039,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,955. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.47 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 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 Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.