Aberdeen Group plc Has $403.08 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during Q1, owning 4.5 million shares worth approximately $403 million, making it the 18th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Merck has a market capitalization of $206.75 billion and reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 in its last quarterly earnings, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.03.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to a dividend yield of 3.9% for investors.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,513,993 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 264,668 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.8% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.18% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $403,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.9%

MRK stock traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,479,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,960,206. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average price is $81.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.31. The company has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.