BankPlus Trust Department Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

BankPlus Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 80.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,857 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,826 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,013,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,084,000 after acquiring an additional 567,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $106.90 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $107.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.49 and its 200 day moving average is $87.12. The firm has a market cap of $265.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

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.