Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,208 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $27,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,043,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,623. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.38 and a 200-day moving average of $198.92. The company has a market cap of $103.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.47 and a 52 week high of $210.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business's 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 owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total value of $455,771.97. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,993.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,920 shares of company stock worth $7,903,935. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $208.73.

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.