Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan by 36.1% in Q4 to 198,546 shares, valued at about $36.83 million.
• Marsh & McLennan beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $3.29 (vs. $3.21) and revenue of $7.30 billion (up 7.6% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 ($3.60 annual, ~2.1% yield).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $205.33 (one Strong Buy, five Buy, ten Hold, one Sell).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,707 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $36,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRSH. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRSH shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $236.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $181.00 to $174.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $173.97 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.89 and a 1 year high of $235.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,411,456.30. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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