Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Boosted by Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,492 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,828 shares during the quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after acquiring an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,327,000 after buying an additional 79,529 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $109.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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%. 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is presently 44.91%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.