Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 79,356 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 30.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 337,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,356 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.07% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $71,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 100.0% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total value of $2,324,098.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,678 shares in the company, valued at $7,625,035.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Stacy Mills sold 4,101 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.77, for a total transaction of $925,882.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,925.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark C. Mcgivney sold 10,265 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.41, for a total transaction of $2,324,098.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,625,035.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,735 shares of company stock valued at $4,897,317 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $223.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $110.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $223.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.30. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.02 and a twelve month high of $232.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.97% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 41.37%.

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.