BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,820 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $20,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $472,599,000 after buying an additional 1,883,146 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,278,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,016,000 after buying an additional 765,696 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MMC
Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.5%
Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.51. 1,514,191 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,277. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $229.08 and its 200 day moving average is $225.14. The firm has a market cap of $113.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, 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.
Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior 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 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 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.95%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, 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 transaction of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $2,344,405.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,129,075. This trade represents a 31.37% 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.
About Marsh & McLennan Companies
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Marsh & McLennan Companies, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Marsh & McLennan Companies wasn't on the list.
While Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that are set to soar in Spring 2025, despite the threat of tariffs and other economic uncertainty. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
