Meyer Handelman Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 377,173 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.90 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $107.05. 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 company has a market capitalization of $265.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.13.

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.