National Pension Service Cuts Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

National Pension Service lessened its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,361 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $198,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their price target 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. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $233.99 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $114.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $219.03 and a 200-day moving average of $222.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

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.