Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Acquires 115 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Pension Service raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 818,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000,000 after purchasing an additional 16,620 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total value of $305,582.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $2,048,770.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,291,675. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,461 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.16, for a total transaction of $305,582.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,374.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,751 shares of company stock valued at $7,448,163 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

MMC traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $203.58. The company had a trading volume of 794,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,593. The company has a market capitalization of $100.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.90. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $171.47 and a one year high of $209.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $202.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.67.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.40%. 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.