Conning Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1,059.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 401,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 366,481 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $33,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after acquiring an additional 567,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $110.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $275.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. 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 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.