Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Stock: First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Grows Position

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank more than doubled its MRSH position in the third quarter, while institutional investors collectively owned 87.99% of Marsh & McLennan’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $202.75; recent target changes ranged from $179 to $224.
• Marsh & McLennan beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.96 EPS and $7.28 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.99 per share, or a 2.2% annualized yield.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 106.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,561 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth about $6,583,806,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,475,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $685,621,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $575,845,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings 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 worth $599,198,000 after acquiring an additional 697,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRSH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Evercore dropped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $216.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $203.00 to $179.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $202.75.

Insider Activity

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 12,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,107,975.65. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MRSH stock opened at $178.43 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $181.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.60 and a 1 year high of $206.04. The firm has a market cap of $85.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through four principal businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh is an insurance brokerage and risk adviser that helps clients identify, manage and transfer risk. Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance brokerage and advisory services to insurance companies.

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