Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 91.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 127.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 899,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,718,000 after buying an additional 504,897 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31,846.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 427,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,430,000 after buying an additional 426,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 219.5% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 529,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,068,000 after acquiring an additional 363,569 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

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.0 %

MMC stock opened at $228.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $216.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.71. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.94 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $112.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. 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.