Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,514,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 307,485 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.31% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $305,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,158,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,092,108,000 after acquiring an additional 837,117 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,590,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,745,889,000 after purchasing an additional 221,033 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,702,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,567,410,000 after purchasing an additional 92,767 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,091,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,041,386,000 after buying an additional 1,260,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,861,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,987,301,000 after buying an additional 68,826 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MRSH. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $199.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total value of $3,052,861.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,411,456.30. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $172.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.74. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $170.37 and a twelve month high of $248.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.52 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.60% and a net margin of 15.42%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is currently 42.70%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC) is a global professional services firm headquartered in New York City that provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. Founded in 1905, the company has grown into a diversified group of businesses focused on insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, human capital and investment consulting, and management consulting. Its long history and scale position it as a prominent adviser to corporations, governments and other institutions seeking to manage risk and optimize human and financial capital.

The firm operates through several well-known subsidiaries and business units that specialize in distinct services.