Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,883 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 246,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,983,000 after acquiring an additional 57,106 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,973,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,655,000 after purchasing an additional 150,873 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $97.43 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $246.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $107.74 and its 200-day moving average is $118.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.