Rhumbline Advisers Buys 28,589 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 989,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.20% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $241,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 191,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,679,000 after buying an additional 16,464 shares during the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,635,000. Bell Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 32,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,896,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 448,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,275,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded down $3.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $228.71. The stock had a trading volume of 697,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,294. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.25 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $228.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.60. The company has a market capitalization of $112.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.