Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMC. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after acquiring an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,205,000 after acquiring an additional 30,367 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MMC opened at $228.95 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $112.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $216.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MMC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

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.