Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 105.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,863 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,597 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $125.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,048,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,338,521. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $318.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.36.

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.