Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 667,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 113,406 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.14% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $141,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $222.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 870,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,601. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.72 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $231.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.57. 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 has a market capitalization of $109.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The company 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Raymond James reissued 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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 increased their price target 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

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.