Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Invests $718,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. has invested $718,000 in Merck & Co., Inc., acquiring 8,000 shares, indicating significant interest in the pharmaceutical company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Merck, with a consensus target price of $107.44, while Guggenheim maintains a "buy" rating with a target price of $115.00.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing analysts' estimates, alongside the declaration of a quarterly dividend of $0.81, reflecting a 3.9% yield.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 186,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,743,000 after buying an additional 73,045 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,211,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 6,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Finally, 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. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $82.67 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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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