D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. FMR LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $603,205,000 after purchasing an additional 30,367 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $230.05 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.17 and a 1 year high of $235.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average of $222.31. The stock has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

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.