California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MMC

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,822,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 349,494 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.37% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $398,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 225.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,051,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,803,000 after purchasing an additional 727,714 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,092,108,000 after buying an additional 837,117 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 218,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,692,000 after acquiring an additional 34,400 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48,212.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,629,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,845,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623,745 shares during the period. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 8,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $181.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $89.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.18 and a 1 year high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.79% and a net margin of 15.60%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 43.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $248.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 21,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.22, for a total transaction of $3,841,015.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,681 shares in the company, valued at $15,977,231.82. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.