Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $114.43 Million Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 538,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 41,828 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.11% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $114,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $233.41.

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Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.84 on Wednesday, hitting $243.16. The stock had a trading volume of 630,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,271. The stock has a market cap of $119.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $230.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.17 and a twelve month high of $245.98.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is presently 39.80%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total transaction of $11,367,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 28,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. The trade was a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dean Michael Klisura sold 7,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $1,673,221.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,919,096.95. This trade represents a 25.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,397 shares of company stock valued at $15,694,684. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.