Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 165,261.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 104,115 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $19,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $208.73.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $209.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,119,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $203.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.64. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $210.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.

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