PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $100.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $112.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.