Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Acquires Shares of 231,301 Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. $MRSH

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MRSH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 231,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,935,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,589,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,643,309,000 after buying an additional 387,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,538,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,340,556,000 after buying an additional 96,436 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,590,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,745,889,000 after buying an additional 221,033 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,702,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,567,410,000 after buying an additional 92,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,091,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,041,386,000 after buying an additional 1,260,434 shares in the last quarter. 87.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In other 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 transaction of $3,052,861.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,811 shares in the company, valued at $21,411,456.30. This represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRSH opened at $159.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $157.74 and a 52-week high of $235.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $164.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.02. The stock has a market cap of $77.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.65.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.08. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 31.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 10.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRSH. Citigroup upgraded shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $181.00 to $174.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. 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 research report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $203.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $199.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.56.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

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.