Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,475 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas' holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,903,000 after buying an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 839,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $187,341,000 after acquiring an additional 24,624 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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. This represents a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.90. 1,688,696 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,882,527. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $230.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.55. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.95%.

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.