BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,893 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,302,459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081,402 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,468,037,000 after buying an additional 1,077,042 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 12,162,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,461,000 after buying an additional 265,432 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,760,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,786,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %
Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $112.33 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.54. The company has a market capitalization of $285.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $83.05 and a twelve month high of $115.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.14%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total transaction of $198,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,609,573.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,251 shares of company stock worth $1,736,570 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Atlantic Securities boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. SVB Leerink raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.
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