Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 99,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,129,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $235,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $207,278,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the business'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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MMC stock traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $227.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,355,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,883,084. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $248.00. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $231.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.52. The company has a market cap of $111.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, 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 results 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. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.95%.

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.