Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 219,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,391 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

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 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 directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $270.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.13 and a 200-day moving average of $89.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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.