American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 65.7%, now owning over 3 million shares valued at approximately $273 million.
• The stock has seen a variety of analyst ratings, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.9%.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 65.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,050,615 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,209,834 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $273,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,642,000 after acquiring an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.59 on Friday, hitting $84.35. The stock had a trading volume of 10,479,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,960,206. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.18 and a 200-day moving average of $83.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.