Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $4.10 Million in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 23,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,096,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRSH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,276,000. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 165.9% during the 1st quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 8,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Bar Harbor Wealth Management purchased a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $726,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the first quarter worth $128,000. 87.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marsh & McLennan Companies news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.71, for a total value of $2,693,441.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares in the company, valued at $18,889,506.81. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRSH. Citigroup raised Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $226.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marsh & McLennan Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.19.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRSH opened at $162.22 on Friday. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.60 and a 52 week high of $219.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.62.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 31.87% and a net margin of 14.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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.