Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 10,466 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 73.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,466 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 13,285 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 47,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 207,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,444,000 after purchasing an additional 18,187 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after buying an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,327,000 after buying an additional 79,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors 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 (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

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.