Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $51.42 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 612,688 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,407 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $51,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,084,000 after acquiring an additional 567,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $106.47 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.34. The stock has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $107.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.13.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.