AlTi Global Inc. Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AlTi Global Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,233 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caxton Associates LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 23,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 853.6% during the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 125,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,497,000 after buying an additional 112,054 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,831,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,778,000 after buying an additional 42,907 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.8% during the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 93,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,550,000 after buying an additional 23,589 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,061,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,418,000 after purchasing an additional 201,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $114.73 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.39 and a 200-day moving average of $124.20. The firm has a market cap of $290.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

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.