Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 254,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up approximately 1.3% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $54,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMC. FMR LLC boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 518,185 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $2,648,304,000 after acquiring an additional 251,361 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 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 worth $892,309,000 after acquiring an additional 184,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,286,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,170,000 after acquiring an additional 71,990 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.44.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC opened at $232.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $114.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $218.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.41. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.17 and a 12-month high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

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.