Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Nexus Investment Management ULC

Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,735 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,213,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,408,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550,824 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $76.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 47.16%.

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

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.