Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $233.96 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,606,526 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,885 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $233,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 2,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 7,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. 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 downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $78.94. 13,735,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,119,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.05. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $133.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.16%.

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.