Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $29.25 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,228 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,009 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. One Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 90,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 8,857 shares during the period. American Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.5% in the second quarter. American Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the second quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,201,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,965,000 after purchasing an additional 431,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Black Diamond Financial LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 4,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on 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. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. 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 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 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.