Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Acquired by Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,439,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,438 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 5.5% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $305,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in 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 increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised 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 valued at $953,683,000 after buying an additional 85,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position 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 valued at $892,309,000 after buying an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,205,000 after acquiring an additional 30,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $228.95 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $235.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated 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, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

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.