Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 383,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,030 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. 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 report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.03.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.