Boston Common Asset Management LLC Has $31.80 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 319,691 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 119,575 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the company's stock worth $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 19,653 shares of the company's stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 18,782 shares of the company's stock worth $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,203,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 100,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

MRK stock traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.00. The stock had a trading volume of 15,879,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The firm has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.