Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,664 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 20,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 48,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,541,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,353,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,718,000 after purchasing an additional 29,422 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,376,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 651.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,742 shares of the company's stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 12,781 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. 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 note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $98.22. 2,650,824 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,938,915. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $107.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.24. 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. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.