Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 77.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,713 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,345 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $27,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third 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. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

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 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. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

MRK stock opened at $108.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. 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.