Oak Thistle LLC Acquires 7,573 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 350.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,573 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies accounts for about 0.6% of Oak Thistle LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 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 worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $954,712,000 after acquiring an additional 223,257 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $953,683,000 after purchasing an additional 85,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $892,309,000 after purchasing an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 48,549 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 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 boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC traded down $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,368,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,874. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $188.31 and a one year high of $235.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $219.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $104.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.96.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Marsh & McLennan Companies's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.