Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $486,000.
Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MRK
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,849,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,137,868. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
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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