Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $862,000 Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 196.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 223,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,602,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,180,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,078,000 after acquiring an additional 10,161 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,381,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO Martine Ferland sold 9,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.63, for a total transaction of $1,840,478.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,012,065.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $438,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,868,198. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,751 shares of company stock worth $7,448,163 in the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $204.21. 205,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,706,980. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.47 and a 52-week high of $209.20. The company has a market capitalization of $100.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.67.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $211.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.69.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.