Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Has $5.72 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,399 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,176.8% in the 2nd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 27,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 26,121 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.9% in the second quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 4,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.8% during the second quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.10 and its 200-day moving average is $90.09. The company has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Eight equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.87.

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.