OLD National Bancorp IN Has $11.04 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 122,960 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,429 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,080,000. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 56,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,601,000 after acquiring an additional 8,461 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 102.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 45,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after acquiring an additional 22,775 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,477,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,546,000 after acquiring an additional 189,540 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.95 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

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.

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