Eastern Bank Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 223,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,755 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,768,000 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 MRK. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $108.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.62 and its 200 day moving average is $89.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’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 $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Zacks Research downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

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.