New Millennium Group LLC Has $1.27 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2,420.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,166 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,723 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of New Millennium Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. New Millennium Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Capital World Investors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company's stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,372,000 after acquiring an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company's stock worth $952,402,000 after acquiring an additional 64,996 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock worth $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,517,951 shares of the company's stock worth $853,739,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $96.54. 13,022,464 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,952,395. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $244.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. 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 currently 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.