Quilter Plc Purchases 35,866 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Quilter Plc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 910,643 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 35,866 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 2.5% of Quilter Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Quilter Plc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $112,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $115.86. The stock had a trading volume of 6,709,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,663,729. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $293.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.73, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $118.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.