Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $316,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 73.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,466 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9%

MRK opened at $108.89 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $112.90. The company has a market cap of $270.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.