Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. TFB Advisors LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 91.3% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Finally, Quilter Plc grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 298,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,491,000 after acquiring an additional 19,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $228.12 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.94 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market capitalization of $112.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. UBS Group increased their price target 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 upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.