UMB Bank N A MO boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 316,408 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,434 shares during the period. UMB Bank N A MO’s holdings in Merck & Co. were worth $18,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Merck & Co. by 3.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 337,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,457,000 after buying an additional 10,865 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 26,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 180,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,413,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Merck & Co. by 16.1% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,411,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,954,000 after buying an additional 334,806 shares during the period. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co. during the first quarter valued at $239,761,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.93% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) traded down 1.16% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.20. 7,406,681 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $169.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57 and a beta of 0.68. Merck & Co. has a 12 month low of $47.97 and a 12 month high of $64.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.99.
Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. Merck & Co. had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co. will post $3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 13th. Merck & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 101.10%.
MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America Corp. upgraded shares of Merck & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $57.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, October 13th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co. in a research report on Sunday, September 11th. Jefferies Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co. in a research report on Sunday, October 16th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 14th. Finally, Barclays PLC reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Merck & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of €65.58 ($72.06).
In other Merck & Co. news, insider Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 40,800 shares of Merck & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of €62.07 ($68.21), for a total transaction of €2,532,456.00 ($2,782,918.68). Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 128,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately €8,005,354.11 ($8,797,092.43). The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adam H. Schechter sold 39,200 shares of Merck & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of €62.61 ($68.80), for a total transaction of €2,454,312.00 ($2,697,046.15). Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,200 shares in the company, valued at €2,454,312 ($2,697,046.15). The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.
About Merck & Co.
Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products, which it markets directly and through its joint ventures. It operates through one segment, Pharmaceutical. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.