Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 60,700 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 60,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,528,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,408,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 53.2% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 23.6% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 697,541 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 392,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,140,000 after purchasing an additional 110,231 shares during the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRSH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $209.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $197.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $181.00 to $174.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John Q. Doyle sold 16,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,889,506.81. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Down 0.0%

Marsh & McLennan Companies stock opened at $180.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.61. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.60 and a 12-month high of $213.80.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MRSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.28 billion during the quarter. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.67% and a net margin of 14.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be paid a $0.99 dividend. This is an increase from Marsh & McLennan Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 23rd. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s payout ratio is presently 48.41%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies 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.