Pensionfund Sabic Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 58.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.8% of Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. State Street Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $98.91. 949,505 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,227,606. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.68. The company has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.57.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.