Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 397 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

MMC opened at $230.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.