Donald L. Hagan LLC Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Donald L. Hagan LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 107.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,352 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,981 shares during the quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $264.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $106.95.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.