Keel Point LLC Acquires 135 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 81,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,506,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 29,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,646,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 29,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 255,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,381,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.29.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was 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 $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $196.23 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.47 and a 52 week high of $209.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.68. The firm has a market cap of $96.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

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.