Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC Quick QuoteMMC - Free Report) recently announced that it has made several acquisitions through its different units. Through Marsh McLennan Agency, a subsidiary of its business, Marsh, it bought Wayzata, MN-based AmeriStar Agency, Inc. This acquisition will help Marsh McLennan Agency by expanding its client base and service offerings.

By incorporating the independent agency, Marsh McLennan Agency gains access to high-net-worth individuals and commercial clients, enhancing its ability to provide tailored risk management solutions and deepen its expertise. Additionally, integrating all of AmeriStar’s experienced employees and established operations will likely strengthen the acquirer’s market position.

Marsh McLennan Agency also acquired Red Bank, NJ-based public and private sector employee benefits broker, Hudson Shore Group. This acquisition will help the company by enhancing its expertise and services in the employee benefits space, particularly for public sector clients.

By integrating Hudson Shore Group, the acquirer is expected to amplify its ability to manage comprehensive employee benefits solutions and lower healthcare costs for clients such as local school districts, municipalities and small to midsize businesses. The move will strengthen Marsh McLennan Agency's presence in the Northeast region, leveraging Hudson Shore Group's established client base and experienced team to offer more specialized services.

Acquisitions continue to form one of the core growth strategies at MMC, which enables it to enter new geographical regions, expand and specialize within the existing ones and foray into new businesses. Another business of MMC, Oliver Wyman, completed the commodity trading advisory firm Veritas Total Solutions’ acquisition. With this move, Oliver Wyman is expected to gain deep technical knowledge in risk management, systems, analytics and artificial intelligence, enabling it to offer comprehensive trading optimization services.

This will allow Oliver Wyman to provide cutting-edge insights and technologies to help clients remain competitive in a complex market. Financial details of all these deals are yet to be disclosed.

Price Performance

Shares of Marsh & McLennan have jumped 14.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 7.7% growth.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Marsh & McLennan currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the broader Finance space may look at some better-ranked players like Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (AMBC Quick QuoteAMBC - Free Report) , Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO Quick QuoteBRO - Free Report) and Root, Inc. (ROOT Quick QuoteROOT - Free Report) . While Ambac Financial currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Brown & Brown and Root carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ambac Financial’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.45 per share, which witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. AMBC beat earnings estimates in all the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 893.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Brown & Brown’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.61 per share, which indicates 28.5% year-over-year growth. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction during the past 60 days. BRO beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 11.9%.

The consensus mark for ROOT’s current-year earnings indicates a 53% year-over-year improvement. It beat earnings estimates in all the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 34.1%. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for Root’s 2024 revenues suggests 125.3% year-over-year growth.