NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Has $13.54 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.98. 2,128,560 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,307,220. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $252.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.23 and its 200 day moving average is $111.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

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.