Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during Q1, owning 4.68 million shares worth approximately $420 million.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1% with a payout ratio of approximately 50%.
• Merck's most recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst estimates, although revenue slightly fell short of expectations at $15.81 billion.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,680,105 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 480,672 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $419,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Alesco Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 90.4% during the first quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 4,150 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,702,000. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $372,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 11,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 3,521 shares during the period. Finally, 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 70,106 shares of the company's stock worth $6,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $199.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.

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