Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Insigneo Advisory Services LLC

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,223 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after buying an additional 3,153,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after buying an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $291.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.73, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.