OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Buys 17,658 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% in the first quarter, bringing its total number of shares to 138,303 valued at approximately $12.37 million.
• Merck recently announced a **quarterly dividend** of **$0.81 per share**, with a yield of **4.1%**, to be paid on **October 7th**.
• The company's recent earnings report showed **$2.13 earnings per share**, exceeding expectations, though its **revenue** of **$15.81 billion** fell short of estimates.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,303 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,658 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,828,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,313 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,452,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,537,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

MRK stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.27. 11,898,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.44. The stock has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.