West Coast Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

West Coast Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 1.6% of West Coast Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $14,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 85.7% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Bangor Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 390.9% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMC. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.60.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $212.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.15. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.31 and a 12 month high of $235.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.815 per share. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 40.15%.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total value of $553,875.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,756,030.95. This trade represents a 4.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.