LPL Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,858,482 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 112,549 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $324,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $724,776,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company's stock worth $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,388,789 shares of the company's stock worth $667,132,000 after buying an additional 1,508,821 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.31. 2,759,771 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,969,049. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $256.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.44 and a 200-day moving average of $118.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

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.