NewEdge Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors cut its Marsh & McLennan stake by 32.9% in the second quarter, selling 17,993 shares and retaining 36,712 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million. Institutional investors overall own 87.99% of the company.
• Marsh & McLennan reported quarterly earnings of $2.96 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.07, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $7.28 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.90 to $0.99 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.96 dividend and a 2.2% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $203.50.

NewEdge Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,993 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $6,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 17,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,630,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 36.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 304,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,814,000 after purchasing an additional 82,194 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other news, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total value of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,975.65. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.00, for a total transaction of $141,174.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,448. This trade represents a 4.17% 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 sold 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903 over the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.0%

MRSH stock opened at $176.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.83. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.60 and a 12-month high of $207.82. 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 (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.The firm had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies's payout ratio is 48.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRSH. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.50.

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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