Longboard Asset Management LP Buys Shares of 1,028 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMC. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,445,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,784,190,000 after purchasing an additional 518,185 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,274,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,754 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,999,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,703,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,205,000 after acquiring an additional 30,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective 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, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $220.00 target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $229.13.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MMC opened at $219.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.41. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $191.87 and a twelve month high of $235.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio 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.