Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324,981 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,449 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $36,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock worth $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock worth $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,617,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,269,039. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.15. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $258.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.20.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.