McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MMC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,156,179,000 after purchasing an additional 96,750 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,260,513,000 after buying an additional 726,713 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,236,186,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,344,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,129,075. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $217.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,052,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,933,627. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.83. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $226.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.21 and a 1-year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.