Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 58.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 949 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 517,510 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 791,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,558,000 after purchasing an additional 298,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related 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 $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.59. 446,653 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,714,367. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.47 and a fifty-two week high of $209.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.25. The company has a market capitalization of $97.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 16.84%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.