Moody National Bank Trust Division Acquires 1,135 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,099 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,302,459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,468,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,042 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,949,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,730,513,000 after purchasing an additional 214,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,349,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,608,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,026,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Bank of America upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Atlantic Securities raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, SVB Leerink lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.35.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.63 and a 1-year high of $115.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.19 and a 200-day moving average of $102.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Get Rating)

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.