PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 78.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,973 shares during the period. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 28,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.1% during the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 326,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,540,000 after purchasing an additional 114,757 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 304,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,332,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 35,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $105.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.76. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $107.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.29. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MRK shares. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.