Insider Selling: Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) VP Sells $243,000.00 in Stock

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $243,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,000. The trade was a 30.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

MRSH stock traded down $2.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $194.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,867,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,800,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.60 and a 52 week high of $200.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $181.60. The stock has a market cap of $92.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.59.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 33.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marsh & McLennan Companies

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRSH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $6,583,806,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,632,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,671,000 after buying an additional 1,661,178 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter worth $685,621,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,454,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,198,000 after buying an additional 697,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at $575,845,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $234.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.42.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through a portfolio of specialized businesses focused on insurance brokerage, reinsurance, consulting and talent management.

Its principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, a provider of reinsurance brokerage and related risk-management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in investment, retirement, health and workforce strategy; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm serving clients across industries and regions.

Founded in 1905, Marsh & McLennan serves clients in countries and markets around the world.