Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $27.79 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 243,997 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,769 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.43 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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 50-day moving average of $107.74 and a 200-day moving average of $118.24. The firm has a market cap of $246.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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 previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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