Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 247,219 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,309,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 247,219 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,764,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

MMC opened at $242.39 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.08. The company has a market capitalization of $119.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $243.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMC. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the business’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 value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.