Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $256.43 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 136.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,626,227 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,515,855 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $256,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 period. 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,479,799,000. 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,737 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $84.22. 7,930,013 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,884,069. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $128.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.52. 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 cap of $211.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 43.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.