Aquatic Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $18,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 3,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Bolthouse Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Vernon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,553,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

MMC stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $223.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 756,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,183. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.58. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.72 and a 1 year high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio 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.