Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 18,845 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,939 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,845 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 6,421 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 73,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,026,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $6,077,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $479,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $118.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.44, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.