Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $376,000 Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth $28,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,926,955. The firm has a market cap of $98.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.90. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.34.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.