Persium Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Persium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 14,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,022,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRSH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $242.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $201.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.75.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRSH opened at $174.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.75. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.89 and a 52 week high of $239.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.26.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 15.42% and a return on equity of 31.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total value of $3,052,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Company Profile

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.