Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 41.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,158 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,499 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.30. 6,466,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,292,268. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average 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.