Generate Investment Management Ltd Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Generate Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 171.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,199 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,482 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.0% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

MRK stock opened at $108.70 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.31 and its 200 day moving average is $122.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $275.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.