Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Increases Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 793,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,112 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for approximately 1.6% of Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. owned 0.16% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $168,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after acquiring an additional 356,618 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,236,186,000. Amundi increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $860,824,000 after buying an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $218.81. The stock had a trading volume of 833,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,860,726. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.39 and a 200 day moving average of $224.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.72 and a twelve month high of $248.00. 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 (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.