Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 7,320.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.23% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $235,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MMC. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $3,710,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 6.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,348,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,368,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,455. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.96. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $188.31 and a 52 week high of $235.50.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.