Sciencast Management LP Purchases 1,809 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Sciencast Management LP raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $3,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after buying an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $207,278,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after acquiring an additional 686,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,817.31. The trade was a 31.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $232.05 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.10 and a 200-day moving average of $223.82. The stock has a market cap of $113.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.