Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Sells 94,517 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lowered its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 217,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 94,517 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $46,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.37. 3,174,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,872,726. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.72 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm has a market cap of $108.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $231.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,919,096.95. This represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,634 shares of company stock worth $16,244,986 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.