Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by S Bank Fund Management Ltd

S Bank Fund Management Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,258 shares during the quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $109.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.32. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.