J.Safra Asset Management Corp Invests $51,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 8,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 508,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,384,000 after acquiring an additional 23,445 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 27,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 197.5% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 one year low of $196.17 and a one year high of $241.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $221.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 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 return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Two equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus 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.