Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 840,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $205,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 1,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 8,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.4% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $212.43. 1,711,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,196. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $207.21 and a fifty-two week high of $248.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $223.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $104.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.93.

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.