Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 85,754 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 worth $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MMC shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $235.87 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.42. The stock has a market cap of $115.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.