Ledyard National Bank Grows Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 81.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,164 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,648,304,000 after buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after purchasing an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares during the period. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,104,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,475,000 after acquiring an additional 50,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a 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 note on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE MMC opened at $225.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $110.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $217.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.49. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.50 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $0.815 dividend. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.80%.

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.