Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Reduced by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 32.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,317 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,887 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased 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 valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 46,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,499 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 164.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 95,525 shares of the company's stock worth $12,605,000 after acquiring an additional 59,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $99.86. 15,631,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,996,354. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $107.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.24. The firm has a market cap of $252.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

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.