Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Lessened by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 466,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 594,534 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,653,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,664,044,000 after purchasing an additional 387,420 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $103.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.16.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.80.

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.