Financial Consulate Inc. Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the third quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after buying an additional 18,187 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $105.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $261.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $107.59.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.