Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) by 21.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,028 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRSH. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 16,707.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 122,656,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,443,207,000 after acquiring an additional 121,926,988 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,583,806,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $4,057,682,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $3,482,557,000. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,140,284,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRSH opened at $176.94 on Monday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.60 and a 1 year high of $207.82. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.83. The stock has a market cap of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 32.67%. The business had revenue of $7.28 billion for the quarter. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRSH shares. UBS Group increased 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 note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $190.00 to $182.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.50.

Insider Activity at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, Director Lloyd Yates sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.65, for a total transaction of $2,107,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,975.65. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Martin South sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.99, for a total value of $1,348,929.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,632 shares in the company, valued at $3,159,913.68. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 19,813 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,903 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Companies, now operating under the name Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm that helps organizations manage risk, strategy and people-related challenges. Its businesses serve corporations, governments, institutional investors and other organizations across a broad range of industries and geographies.

The company’s principal businesses include Marsh, an insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm; Guy Carpenter, which provides reinsurance brokerage and related risk management services; Mercer, which offers consulting in areas such as talent, health, retirement and investments; and Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm.