Synovus Financial Corp Lowers Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $233.52 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $232.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.62. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $115.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.