KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Reduces Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $48,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510,966 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 153.6% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $578,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,016,000 after purchasing an additional 765,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE MMC traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $208.43. 2,767,699 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,239,715. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.21 and a 1-year high of $248.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $220.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.92 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.00% and a return on equity of 31.90%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.79.

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.