Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Stock Holdings Decreased by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG cut its stake in Marsh & McLennan by 78.7% in Q4, selling 148,508 shares and leaving it with 40,253 shares valued at $7.47M.
• Marsh & McLennan reported EPS of $3.29 versus a $3.21 consensus and revenue of $7.30B (up 7.6% y/y), and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.90 (annualized $3.60, yield 2.1%).
• CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares at $183.30 for about $3.05M on March 4, reducing his holding by 12.48%, while institutional investors own roughly 88% of the company and insiders own 0.38%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 78.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 148,508 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $7,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRSH. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 198,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,834,000 after buying an additional 52,707 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 538,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,510,000 after buying an additional 38,118 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Novem Group grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Novem Group now owns 5,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRSH shares. 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $203.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 116,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE MRSH opened at $173.97 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.89 and a 52 week high of $235.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $83.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.08. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 31.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's dividend payout ratio is 45.00%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company 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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