Fiducient Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Fiducient Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $199.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,519,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,738,502. The business has a fifty day moving average of $203.03 and a 200-day moving average of $197.31. The stock has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $207.69.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.