LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Takes $476,000 Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% in the fourth 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29,648.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 688,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,346,000 after acquiring an additional 686,662 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,784,190,000 after acquiring an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings 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 valued at $200,718,000 after buying an additional 504,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 219.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 529,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,068,000 after buying an additional 363,569 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMC opened at $239.53 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $239.81.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. 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.