Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $47.31 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,457 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.0% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 buying an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,151,642,000 after buying an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,289,516 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.54. The stock had a trading volume of 10,823,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,448,666. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $129.03. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.19. The company has a market cap of $204.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 47.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered 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, July 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.