Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,150 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.6% of Payden & Rygel's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.43. 12,135,486 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,966,856. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $246.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change 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 3.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.