Elevate Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $110.91 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $101.15 and its 200-day moving average is $89.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $275.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G 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.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.87.

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.