Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 12,467 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 311,565 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,467 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $26,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,084,000 after purchasing an additional 567,900 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.09. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $112.90. 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 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 return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.