Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,126 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,126 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,894,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 94,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,048,000 after buying an additional 4,465 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 67,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,405,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 202,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,911,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMC. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted 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 note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MMC traded down $1.06 on Friday, reaching $215.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,007,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,865. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.82 and a 200-day moving average of $221.06. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.31 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50. The company has a market capitalization of $105.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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.