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

Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 153.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,370,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,436,044 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for about 1.6% of Ninety One UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.48% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $578,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32,120.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,515,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,869,000 after buying an additional 1,510,966 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 473.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,016,000 after buying an additional 765,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,719,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,129,000 after acquiring an additional 759,573 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $249.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $240.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MMC traded down $1.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $213.29. 236,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,968,265. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $207.21 and a 52-week high of $248.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $223.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.70. The stock has a market cap of $105.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. 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%.

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.