Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Position Increased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 153.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,436,044 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up 1.6% of Ninety One UK Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.48% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $578,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,178,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $531,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MMC traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $214.08. 1,852,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,973,181. The firm has a market cap of $105.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.76. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $207.21 and a 12-month high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 32.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 1.68%. This is a positive change from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 39.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MMC. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $240.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.