Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 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 disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 409.7% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 75,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,098,000 after acquiring an additional 60,920 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 28,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,015,000 after buying an additional 5,990 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 67,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,352,000 after buying an additional 12,002 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 14,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.93.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total value of $550,302.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $231.93. The company had a trading volume of 271,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,911,874. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $229.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $114.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.