Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 38,582 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 38,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,195,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,710,000. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd 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. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $215.23. 2,007,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,961. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.62 and a 200 day moving average of $221.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.31 and a twelve month high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 40.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.60.

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.