Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,223 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.69.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total value of $2,508,670.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $3.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,783,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,961. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.16. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

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.