MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Sells 8,449 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,449 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.2% of MOKAN Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chemung Canal Trust Co. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 76,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after buying an additional 13,285 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased 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 valued at $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised 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 purchasing an additional 79,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.81. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.90. The company has a market cap of $271.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.