Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Acquires 597,596 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3,778.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 613,412 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 597,596 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company's stock worth $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 246,414 shares of the company's stock worth $27,983,000 after acquiring an additional 57,106 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,973,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,655,000 after acquiring an additional 150,873 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $2.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $100.41. 10,818,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,996,504. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.