Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 48,543 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 39.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,543 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.4% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 35,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 12,993 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the third quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 3,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.7% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 10,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9 %

MRK opened at $106.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.96. The company has a market capitalization of $271.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.40 and a 52 week high of $115.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $9,431,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $535,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,734,300. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Atlantic Securities raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Rating)

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.