Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,721 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $50,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,739,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,503,120,000 after purchasing an additional 356,618 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,554,841,000 after purchasing an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,156,179,000 after purchasing an additional 96,750 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,260,513,000 after purchasing an additional 726,713 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,236,186,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,520,202.64. This trade represents a 63.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,326,412. This represents a 14.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $228.47 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.77 and a 12 month high of $248.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $229.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.