J.Safra Asset Management Corp Acquires New Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased 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 buying an additional 7,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

MMC opened at $237.95 on Thursday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.17 and a 52 week high of $241.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.18. The company has a market capitalization of $116.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is 39.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. 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. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.