Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,299 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,495 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 31,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 6,886 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 12,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,190,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set 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 decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.
Get Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock 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 15,518,918. The stock has a market cap of $210.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $81.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
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