Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Position

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH – Free Report) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,645 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $73,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,583,806,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 41.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $685,621,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 25.3% during 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 period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $575,845,000. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRSH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Erste Group Bank raised Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.84.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Marsh & McLennan Companies

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dean Klisura sold 4,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $838,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $4,187,000. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,215 shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MRSH opened at $204.59 on Tuesday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.60 and a twelve month high of $214.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.01. The stock has a market cap of $97.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.32% and a net margin of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.49 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 47.37%.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

(Free Report)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now known as Marsh, is a professional services firm focused on risk, strategy and people. Its businesses help organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance and reinsurance, and address workforce and organizational challenges.

The company operates through Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory business; Guy Carpenter, which specializes in reinsurance and related risk services; Mercer, which provides health, wealth and career consulting; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH)

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