Running Oak Capital LLC Increases Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,049 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $8,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 532,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,925,000 after buying an additional 517,510 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 419,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 60.5% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 transaction, the vice president now 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 available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 12,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,762,205.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MMC traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $199.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,821,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,744,036. 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 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.