Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 0.2% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,108,366,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,151 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,551,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,357,000 after buying an additional 212,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $117.84. 8,577,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,621,607. The stock has a market cap of $298.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.93, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.