Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Stock Acquired by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 249,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,864 shares during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies makes up about 2.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $42,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,966,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,812,983. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.59. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $156.60 and a one year high of $207.82.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,913.68. The trade was a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Paul Beswick sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,242,448. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903 over the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRSH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.12.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that provides advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. The company serves businesses, governments and institutions through four principal businesses: Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Oliver Wyman.

Marsh is an insurance brokerage and risk adviser that helps clients identify, manage and transfer risk. Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance brokerage and advisory services to insurance companies.