Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires 995,784 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 112.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,884,285 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 995,784 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.7% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned approximately 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $169,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $118.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $121.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.86. 5,062,733 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,627,661. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $134.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 26.67% and a return on equity of 45.35%. The firm had revenue of $15.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, SVP Dalton E. Smart III sold 4,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.76, for a total transaction of $352,723.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,707.28. This trade represents a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.