Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,497,421 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,022 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $185,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731,152 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $3,108,366,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $118.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $300.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

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 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.