Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,237,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 804,609 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $439,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $106.51 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.89. The company has a market capitalization of $264.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $106.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 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.