MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 18,630 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 774,643 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,630 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $87,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company's stock worth $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company's stock worth $347,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,152 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,388,789 shares of the company's stock worth $667,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,821 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.04. 9,800,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,134,905. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.