Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Acquires 113,406 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 667,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,406 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $141,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $219.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.72 and a twelve month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.95%.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,569 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $2,344,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,129,075. The trade was a 31.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. The trade was a 14.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.