Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 3,364 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,364 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,012,000 after purchasing an additional 15,779 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,876,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 310,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,017,000 after buying an additional 20,645 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $99.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.92. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.85 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.