Arizona State Retirement System Sells 5,056 Shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,056 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $25,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Thursday, January 29th. They issued a “hold (c)” rating for the company. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $237.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.30, for a total transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,411,456.30. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MRSH opened at $173.97 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.89 and a 52 week high of $235.78. The company has a market cap of $83.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.25.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.87% and a net margin of 14.26%.The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.00%.

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.