Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,191,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $218,020,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. apricus wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 22,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,191,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 21,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,155,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Securities cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $128.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $75.92. The stock had a trading volume of 5,412,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,966,979. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company's 50-day moving average is $80.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.95.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.