Rothschild Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Rothschild Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,236,186,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 551.0% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,224,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883,146 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,072,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $860,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $235,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $207,278,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 2,237 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.00, for a total transaction of $550,302.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,522 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,412. This trade represents a 14.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total value of $309,455.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,634 shares of company stock valued at $16,244,986. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $281.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $241.93.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $219.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,174,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,873,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $108.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $231.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.62. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.72 and a 12 month high of $248.00.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.04. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.95%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.