AlphaQuest LLC Lowers Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,448 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC opened at $235.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $241.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.35.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

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.