Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 131.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares in the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $235.40 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.35. 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 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $241.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.