Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Holdings Boosted by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 72.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,649 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,050,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,554,841,000 after acquiring an additional 145,134 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,151,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,156,179,000 after acquiring an additional 96,750 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,934,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,260,513,000 after acquiring an additional 726,713 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,236,186,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,218,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,108,459,000 after acquiring an additional 609,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $261.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

NYSE:MMC traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $210.39. 2,290,058 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,449,143. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $207.21 and a one year high of $248.00. The company has a market capitalization of $103.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

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.