Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $7.99 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 187.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,149 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,033 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $105.13 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.15 and its 200-day moving average is $86.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.