Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 1,697 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7,320.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,108,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $235,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,817 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,784,190,000 after buying an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 127.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 899,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,718,000 after buying an additional 504,897 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31,846.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 427,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,430,000 after buying an additional 426,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 219.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 529,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,068,000 after buying an additional 363,569 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

MMC stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $231.13. 1,868,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,156,991. The company has a market capitalization of $113.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick 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 $235.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.03.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 32.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MMC. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $230.44.

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.