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

Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 88.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,522 shares during the quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $117.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.61, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.