Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Has $32.73 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 364,668 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,949 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,479,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,032,217,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932,647 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,121,395,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total value of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $82.17 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $129.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.35. The firm has a market cap of $206.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.