Perpetual Ltd Acquires 164,506 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 585,395 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 164,506 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $58,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE MRK traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $95.72. 13,069,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,479,509. The company has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $99.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost 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 3.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.