Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 213,831 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.7% of Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $130.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a PE ratio of 145.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $128.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.