Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires 6,202 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 57.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,020 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,202 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 600.9% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 845,631 shares of the company's stock worth $75,904,000 after buying an additional 724,986 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 3,068 shares of the company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 545.8% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,452,000 after acquiring an additional 41,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 38,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.69.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $83.72. 10,367,381 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,206,694. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.08 and a 200 day moving average of $86.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.16%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.