Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co. by 21.1%, owning approximately 3.73 million shares valued at $334 million.
• Merck's share price decreased by 0.7%, with current trading at around $80.09; it has a market cap of $200.05 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 4.0%, with the payout date set for October 7.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,730,069 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 649,408 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $334,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $82.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,041,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,989,376. 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 stock has a market cap of $206.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.72.

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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.