Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC Invests $654,000 in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,153,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 134,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,960,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares in the last quarter. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,880,000. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,856,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,681,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total transaction of $2,693,441.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,889,506.81. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Lloyd M. Yates sold 12,000 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total transaction of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,469 shares of company stock worth $6,291,345. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Up 1.5%

MRSH stock opened at $192.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.60 and a 52-week high of $207.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.28 billion for the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were given a $0.99 dividend. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 48.41%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.