Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lifted by Bank Hapoalim BM

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

MRK stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $84.34. The stock had a trading volume of 9,356,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,354,717. The company has a market capitalization of $211.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup reissued 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut 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 objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.