Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Boosted by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,173,015 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,700 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.3% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $98,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 83,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,518,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 321,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,882,000 after purchasing an additional 23,020 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 58,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,346 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $106.48 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.36 and a 200-day moving average of $88.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $107.59. The stock has a market cap of $264.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

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.