Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Acquires New Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,933,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 69,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,684,000 after buying an additional 3,669 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 212.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 7,254 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,180 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,213,000. Finally, Beck Bode LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 128.4% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target 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, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $1.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.79. 1,525,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,892,844. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $111.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.77 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $230.34 and its 200 day moving average is $224.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio 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.