Studio Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,611 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Studio Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,388,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,132,000 after buying an additional 1,508,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $100.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.