6,461 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Bought by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at about $6,583,806,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661,178 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at about $685,621,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,454,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,198,000 after purchasing an additional 697,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $575,845,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $838,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,187,000. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $541,000. This represents a 30.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $204.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MRSH opened at $204.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $97.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.01. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.60 and a 12 month high of $214.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 33.32%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.37%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now known as Marsh, is a professional services firm focused on risk, strategy and people. Its businesses help organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance and reinsurance, and address workforce and organizational challenges.

The company operates through Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory business; Guy Carpenter, which specializes in reinsurance and related risk services; Mercer, which provides health, wealth and career consulting; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.