Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 91.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 132,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,507,000 after purchasing an additional 19,024 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 98.7% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,283,000 after buying an additional 7,308 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 18.6% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 29,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,559,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,992,000 after purchasing an additional 5,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MMC opened at $228.12 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.94 and a 1-year high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.71. The stock has a market cap of $112.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. Equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.