Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 187 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 5,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $199.26 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.93 and a 200 day moving average of $197.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.47 and a 52 week high of $209.20.

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 expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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