Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,041 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 19,423,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,696,223,000 after purchasing an additional 61,408 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 105,777.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,772,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,156,000 after purchasing an additional 9,763,286 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,278,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,881,000 after purchasing an additional 31,821 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,293,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,928 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,979,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,960,000 after purchasing an additional 271,408 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.73.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $2,508,670.26. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $201.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $202.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.72. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $171.47 and a 12-month high of $209.20. The firm has a market cap of $99.52 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 33.72%. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.