Whittier Trust Co. Raises Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $33,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 85,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,919,096.95. The trade was a 25.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock valued at $13,350,279. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $232.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $241.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.73.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

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.