Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Boosted by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 506,684 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,734 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $57,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 10,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 479,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,274,000 after acquiring an additional 20,448 shares in the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 30,351 shares of the company's stock worth $3,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,399 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.0% in the third quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 4,057 shares of the company's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 37,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $106.34. 10,705,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,782,405. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $269.34 billion, a PE ratio of 118.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.