Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Raised by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 164.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,441 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,466,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,292,268. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $317.36 billion, a PE ratio of 139.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.12 and a 200 day moving average of $126.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.