Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Lessened by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,380,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92,865 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.8% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $294,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $117.87 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $298.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.