Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Holdings Decreased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,916 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.4% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company's stock worth $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company's stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company's stock worth $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company's stock worth $347,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,152 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial decreased 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $100.41. 10,818,014 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,996,504. 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 company has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $107.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 64.57%.

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.