KBC Group NV Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,616,262 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,403 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $260,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,350,000. Apexium Financial LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 19,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 56,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,608,000 after purchasing an additional 22,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.