Northcape Capital Pty Ltd Grows Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies comprises 0.4% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $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% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,905,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,648,304,000 after purchasing an additional 251,361 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,530,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $954,712,000 after buying an additional 223,257 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 184,239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $209.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $103.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.17. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.31 and a fifty-two week high of $235.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $219.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $211.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $217.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Oscar Fanjul sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.55, for a total transaction of $553,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,756,030.95. This represents a 4.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.