Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 552,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,467 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $46,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second 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 2nd quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $106.48 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $107.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $264.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

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.