ING Groep NV Has $4.72 Million Stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,589 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 518,185 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 251,361 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew 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 valued at $953,683,000 after purchasing an additional 85,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 184,239 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 30,367 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MMC shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Two investment 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, Marsh & McLennan Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMC opened at $230.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $112.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $235.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average is $222.25.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.80%.

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.