BNP Paribas Has $36.39 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BNP Paribas lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,762 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,901 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.5% of BNP Paribas’ holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $36,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.62 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $257.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.