RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 249,253 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,802 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.2% of RWC Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. RWC Asset Management LLP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 80,742,030 shares of the company's stock worth $8,032,217,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932,647 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,577,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,642,000 after purchasing an additional 4,480,007 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.7%
MRK traded down $3.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.70. 7,644,571 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,822,049. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $80.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.96. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30. The company has a market cap of $197.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.39.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 4.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
(
Free Report)
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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