25,594 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor LLC

Bahl & Gaynor LLC cut its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) by 10.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 216,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,594 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $37,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 9,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 32.2% in the third quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.7% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.6% in the third quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $838,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,000. This trade 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. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MRSH opened at $207.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.36. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.60 and a twelve month high of $214.00. The stock has a market cap of $98.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.53.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.32% and a net margin of 14.20%. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $204.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.84.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.