Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $34.99 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 320,989 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,468 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $34,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,363,385,000 after buying an additional 39,289,404 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,736,293,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 82,442,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,487,472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196,914 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,400,000 after purchasing an additional 4,915,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 184.5% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,254,914 shares of the company's stock valued at $837,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705,004 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,122,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,346,982. The company has a market capitalization of $317.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 893.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $126.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $142.00 target price (up previously from $139.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.25.

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

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.

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