Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,616 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $20,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $301,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 13,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,514,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,613. The business has a fifty day moving average of $229.13 and a 200 day moving average of $225.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $113.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.77 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.