Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6%, owning over 252 million shares valued at approximately $22.67 billion.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a 4.0% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.
• Merck's stock currently has an average rating of "Hold", and analysts expect an EPS of 9.01 for the current year.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $22,665,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $80.78 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $202.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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