Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,180 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $68,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,213,000. Beck Bode LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 128.4% during the fourth quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 10,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 22,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,720,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 31,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,703,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475 shares during the period. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

MMC stock opened at $227.21 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $231.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.69 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 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 Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.

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