2,027 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Acquired by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,788,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,046,000 after purchasing an additional 30,499 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 164.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 95,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,605,000 after buying an additional 59,441 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 46,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,091,000 after buying an additional 13,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cadence Bank lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 52,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,903,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,467,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,859,123. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.22, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Berenberg Bank increased 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. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.