HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Buys 16,271 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,271 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 314,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,229,000 after buying an additional 7,496 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 472.5% during the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 15,286 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,747,000 after buying an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,315,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,351,000 after acquiring an additional 149,218 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $104.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.29. 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 50 day moving average price of $93.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.