Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 1,699 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MMC shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $227.45 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.50 and a 1-year high of $235.50. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $216.81 and a 200 day moving average of $221.60. The company has a market capitalization of $111.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio 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.