Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 1,376.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,084 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $231.74. 1,207,987 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,915,519. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $229.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $114.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.77 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. 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.