California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH – Free Report) by 16,707.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 122,656,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 121,926,988 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.26% of Marsh & McLennan Companies worth $20,443,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kintra Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31.4% during the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 6,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank boosted its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 33,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,621,000 after acquiring an additional 15,643 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $202,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.7% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 47,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,929,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $345,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Lloyd M. 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% 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, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total transaction of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,813 shares of company stock worth $3,597,903. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance
Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $185.80 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.60 and a 1-year high of $207.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.49. The company has a market cap of $88.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.58.
Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.Marsh & McLennan Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is a boost from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.
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