Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $131.38 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,205,963 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,493 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $131,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smith Salley & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 207,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,673,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares during the period. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,530,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 61,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,732,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 145,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,891,000 after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.99. 5,673,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,458,428. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 914.21, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.38. The business's fifty day moving average is $125.97 and its 200-day moving average is $113.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.71.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total transaction of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.