Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,653 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $25,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at $611,374.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 9,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $2,048,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,291,675. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MMC traded up $4.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $201.73. 3,537,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,709,158. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $202.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.69. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.47 and a twelve month high of $209.20. The company has a market capitalization of $99.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.90.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $212.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $185.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lowered Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.73.

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.