BDF Gestion Has $13.15 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BDF Gestion increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,786 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,827 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.2% of BDF Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SWS Partners increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. SWS Partners now owns 19,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after buying an additional 2,095,694 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 49,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the third quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.45 on Tuesday, hitting $111.14. 5,464,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,748,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.