Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires 23,319 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,319 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $23,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE MMC opened at $228.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week 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 fifty day moving average of $216.79 and a 200-day moving average of $221.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.