Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 545,054 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,788 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted 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 report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $107.39 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.