BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $18.87 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 41.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,844 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $398,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 907,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,252,000 after buying an additional 254,691 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 16,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,659,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.