Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Trims Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMC. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter worth $41,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $237.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $116.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.17 and a fifty-two week high of $241.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.18.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. 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.