Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $44.72 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 532,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,995 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the third quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,182,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,276,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the third quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC now owns 165,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,387,000 after buying an additional 7,027 shares during the period. Sector Gamma AS raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 322,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,067,000 after buying an additional 120,500 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 475,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,892,000 after buying an additional 3,968 shares during the period. Finally, FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. 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 transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $108.12 on Monday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.