HCR Wealth Advisors Invests $292,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

HCR Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 343.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMC. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $189.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.27.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.13, for a total transaction of $455,771.97. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,993.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total value of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,979 shares in the company, valued at $2,012,065.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,903,935. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,009,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,629. 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 stock has a market cap of $102.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average is $203.48 and its 200 day moving average is $199.16. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $171.47 and a fifty-two week high of $211.53.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion for 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%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.