Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 194,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 24,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. City State Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $980,000. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel now owns 3,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.33% of the company’s stock.
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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Atlantic Securities lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $102.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.83.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of MRK stock opened at $92.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.95. The company has a market cap of $233.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.50 and a 12 month high of $95.72.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $14.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.00% and a return on equity of 48.45%. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th were given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 14th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.27%.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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