Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in 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 buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after buying an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 7,380 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC opened at $235.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.35. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.17 and a 52-week high of $241.84.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.