Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Stock Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions cut its Marsh & McLennan stake by 71.8% in the second quarter, while institutional investors overall owned 87.99% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $203.50; targets from several firms were raised, while Citigroup downgraded the shares to neutral.
• Marsh & McLennan exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $2.96 in EPS and $7.28 billion in revenue, up 6.2% year over year. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.99 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% annual yield.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,743 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $1,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRSH. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 60,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 229.6% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,098,000. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $203,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total value of $141,174.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,448. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRSH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRSH opened at $171.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.60 and a 1-year high of $207.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $184.85.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, strategy and people-related challenges. Its businesses serve corporations, governments, institutional investors and other organizations across a broad range of industries and geographies.

The company's principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, which provides reinsurance brokerage and related risk management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in areas such as talent, health, retirement and investments; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.

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