29,800 Shares in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,646,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $212.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.64.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.07. 1,933,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,344. The stock has a market cap of $97.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.50 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.61.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 37.72%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.