LGT Group Foundation Has $86.31 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LGT Group Foundation raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 697,137 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,758 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of LGT Group Foundation’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $86,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $2.47 on Monday, hitting $115.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,621,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,587,418. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.93 and a 200-day moving average of $125.05. The company has a market capitalization of $292.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 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.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.