Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Shares Bought by Oak Thistle LLC

Key Points

• Institutional buying: Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan by 981% to 16,107 shares (adding 14,617) valued at ~$2.99M, while other large funds (notably Assenagon's 1.52M-share purchase) lifted holdings — institutional investors now own about 87.99% of the stock.
• Insider sale: CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares at $183.30 on March 4 for roughly $3.05M, reducing his ownership by 12.48%; insiders collectively own about 0.35% of the company.
• Earnings and dividend: MMCo. beat estimates with Q EPS of $2.12 (vs. $1.97) and $6.60B revenue (up 8.7% YoY), announced a $0.90 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.60, ~2.1% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $211.38.

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 981.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,617 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9,455.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,520,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $282,021,000 after buying an additional 1,504,255 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.1% during 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 period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 654.7% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,419,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,992,000 after buying an additional 1,231,059 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 29.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,293,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $663,676,000 after buying an additional 753,828 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 93.4% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,379,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $277,998,000 after buying an additional 666,023 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRSH. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $199.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.38.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Down 0.1%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $172.54 on Wednesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.89 and a 52-week high of $239.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.75. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 31.60%. The company had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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