Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK) Position Increased by Agran Libbie

Agran Libbie increased its stake in Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 83.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Agran Libbie’s holdings in Merck & were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,800,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,695,480,000 after buying an additional 465,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & during the fourth quarter valued at $1,628,824,000. Dodge & Cox purchased a new stake in Merck & during the fourth quarter valued at $821,068,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 12,753,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,807,000 after buying an additional 506,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Merck & by 49.7% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,991,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,295,000 after buying an additional 2,983,319 shares during the last quarter. 73.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK) traded down 0.57% during trading on Friday, hitting $61.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,421,089 shares. Merck & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $58.29 and a one year high of $66.80. The stock has a market cap of $167.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.83.

Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. Merck & had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 17.14%. The firm had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Merck &’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.11%.

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. J P Morgan Chase & Co boosted their price target on Merck & from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Merck & from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Credit Suisse Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Merck & in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Vetr upgraded Merck & from a “sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $71.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Finally, Cowen and Company restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Merck & in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.58.

Merck & Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Healthcare Services and Alliances. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.