Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,881 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 532,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,925,000 after purchasing an additional 517,510 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 447,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,064,000 after purchasing an additional 419,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 60.5% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 791,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,558,000 after purchasing an additional 298,300 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,979,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,137,960,000 after purchasing an additional 271,408 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE MMC traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, reaching $199.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,519,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,502. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.47 and a 1-year high of $209.20. The company's fifty day moving average is $203.06 and its 200-day moving average is $197.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.