Banque Pictet & Cie SA Buys Shares of 208,338 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 208,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $44,253,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,744,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $230.04. 1,394,261 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,305. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $217.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.99. The firm has a market cap of $112.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 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.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.