KBC Group NV Sells 227,229 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,389,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227,229 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. KBC Group NV owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $214,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,072,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.06 and a 200-day moving average of $87.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $198.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.