Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Increased by Mondrian Investment Partners LTD

Key Points

• Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.2% in Q1, now holding approximately 1.43 million shares, representing 2.2% of its portfolio.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 4.0%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Merck, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 24.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,433,392 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 278,925 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.2% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD owned about 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $128,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 71,502 shares of the company's stock worth $6,418,000 after purchasing an additional 16,605 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,730,069 shares of the company's stock worth $334,341,000 after purchasing an additional 649,408 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.2% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 341,810 shares of the company's stock worth $30,681,000 after purchasing an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5,549.1% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 6,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 6,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 939,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,243,000 after acquiring an additional 86,162 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

MRK opened at $80.29 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $80.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.72. The company has a market capitalization of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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