Procyon Advisors LLC Has $763,000 Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,602,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 312,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,763,000 after acquiring an additional 12,970 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,825,000. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 120,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,814,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eqis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 92.3% during the second quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen began coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $206.53. The stock had a trading volume of 72,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,684. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.37 and a 12 month high of $209.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $200.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.97.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO John Jude Jones sold 1,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.67, for a total value of $306,523.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,879.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.