California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 31,117 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,246,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,117 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.66% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $615,107,000 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 the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 532,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,925,000 after acquiring an additional 517,510 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 447,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,064,000 after purchasing an additional 419,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 791,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,558,000 after purchasing an additional 298,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third 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 last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE MMC traded down $0.98 on Monday, reaching $201.43. 1,604,401 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,736,026. The stock has a market cap of $99.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.47 and a 12 month high of $209.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.91.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.64 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. 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 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,762,205.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $6,762,205.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $207.69.

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.