Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Shares Newly Purchased by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,583,806,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661,178 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $685,621,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,454,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $599,198,000 after purchasing an additional 697,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth $575,845,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. Also, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of the company’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 $838,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,187,000. This represents a 16.69% 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. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of MRSH stock opened at $205.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.53. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.60 and a 52 week 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $185.11.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.86 billion during the quarter. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRSH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.