Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 17,247 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 270,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,247 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after buying an additional 567,900 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.20.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $108.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued 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 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.