National Pension Service Makes New $188.10 Million Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,128,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $188,098,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRSH. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16,707.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 122,656,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,443,207,000 after purchasing an additional 121,926,988 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,153,000. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,880,000. Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,856,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $20,681,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

MRSH stock opened at $177.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.60 and a 12-month high of $207.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a $0.99 dividend. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MRSH shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $141,174.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total transaction of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, strategy and people-related challenges. Its businesses serve corporations, governments, institutional investors and other organizations across a broad range of industries and geographies.

The company’s principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, which provides reinsurance brokerage and related risk management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in areas such as talent, health, retirement and investments; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.