Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $47.31 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,457 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $83.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average of $86.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $129.03.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.