Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 132.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,622 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,301 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 126.1% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 85,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,840,000 after purchasing an additional 47,857 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 6,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Noble Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,085,000 after buying an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 5,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.13.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

MRK stock opened at $106.48 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $107.59. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $97.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 is 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.