Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 23,743 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 594,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,743 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.12% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $112,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded down $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $196.23. 1,493,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,694,056. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $202.63 and its 200 day moving average is $196.68. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.47 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $189.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $212.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $204.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.