Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.7% during the first quarter, owning a total of 2,234,019 shares valued at approximately $200.5 million.
• Several analysts have recently revised their ratings on Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering their price target from $97 to $90 and Guggenheim maintaining a "buy" rating with a target of $115.
• Merck & Co., Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,234,019 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 456,308 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $200,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in 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. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in 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. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in 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. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $79.93. The stock had a trading volume of 13,378,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,108,983. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $80.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.