Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $13.31 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,166 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,458 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 60,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,042 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 38,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the third quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 16,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 11,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% in the third quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 17,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.