Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $261,787,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3,413.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1,496.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased 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 buying an additional 298,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 271,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of the company’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 transaction of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MMC opened at $204.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.