Ossiam trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 74.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281,005 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,294,504,000 after acquiring an additional 6,546,946 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,339,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,354,384,000 after acquiring an additional 238,356 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,816 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,734,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,801,839,000 after buying an additional 8,281,942 shares during the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $474,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.0 %
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 239.34%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. StockNews.com downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.74.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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