Teacher Retirement System of Texas Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 863,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 199,740 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $72,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $109.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $103.63 and its 200 day moving average is $90.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90. The company has a market capitalization of $271.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.29. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. 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%.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.