Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys 174 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after purchasing an additional 85,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $603,205,000 after purchasing an additional 30,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $228.88 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.94 and a 1 year high of $235.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $216.67 and its 200-day moving average is $221.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MMC shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average 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.