Commerce Bank Has $153.72 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,353,627 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,422 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Commerce Bank's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Commerce Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $153,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 88.3% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 16,555 shares of the company's stock worth $2,184,000 after buying an additional 7,765 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 64,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,548,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,975,000 after buying an additional 6,040 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.38. 4,914,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,934,763. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued 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 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim cut 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.