Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stake Decreased by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,131 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.9%

MRK stock opened at $113.44 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $281.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $113.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.23.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.