Norden Group LLC Purchases 8,796 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Norden Group LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,155 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,796 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 67,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,681,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 66.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 105,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,848,000 after buying an additional 42,138 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 13,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 44,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $286,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’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 transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.4%

MRK stock opened at $106.51 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.75. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $106.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

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.