HM Payson & Co. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HM Payson & Co. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 191,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,181 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 3,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 14,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.90 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $107.05. The company has a market cap of $265.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.17.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.