Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 663,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,956 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $76,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102,675.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,860,147,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,642,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,338,022 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after buying an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,736,293,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,734,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,801,839,000 after buying an additional 8,281,942 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,294,504,000 after buying an additional 6,546,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total transaction of $213,052.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,394.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $4,602,729.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,738,572.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total value of $213,052.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,394.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Monday, reaching $102.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,996,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,443,224. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.36 and a 12-month high of $119.65. The company has a market capitalization of $258.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.30 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 7.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.