Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) Shares Bought by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 110.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,215 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $5,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 133.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $240.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:MMC opened at $213.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.83. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $207.21 and a 52 week high of $248.00. The company has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.08 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.19% and a net margin of 16.13%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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.