Bank Hapoalim BM Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank Hapoalim BM lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,754 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,420 shares during the period. Bank Hapoalim BM's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,096,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,979,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,192 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 61,181,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,072,582,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,859 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,479,799,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.35. 9,716,130 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,419,646. The company has a market cap of $209.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $129.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.08 and a 200-day moving average of $86.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.