Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Sells 15,621 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH trimmed its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,621 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,156,179,000 after purchasing an additional 96,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,513,000 after purchasing an additional 726,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,236,186,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Barclays increased their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Monday, April 21st. 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 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $233.51. 3,744,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,927,216. The company has a market cap of $115.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average is $228.86 and its 200 day moving average is $225.32. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.35 and a fifty-two week 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during 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 firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.95%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,344,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,129,075. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.