Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Matrix Trust Co

Matrix Trust Co raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,294 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,885 shares during the quarter. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 314,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,229,000 after purchasing an additional 7,496 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 472.5% in the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 15,286 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $9,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 149,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of MRK opened at $104.79 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.29.

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 net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.