Blue Trust Inc. Has $4.17 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,675 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,026 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after buying an additional 7,939 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 6,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 19,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 171.5% in the 3rd quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 257,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,208,000 after purchasing an additional 162,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $108.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.45. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.