Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 936,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,882 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $77,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,450,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,682,000 after buying an additional 142,125 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,087,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,242,000 after acquiring an additional 160,345 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, Forte Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $108.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $103.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.20.

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

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This 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. 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.