Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC

Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 336,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,300 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.7% of Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $41,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $545,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,789,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 366.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 177,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,030,000 after buying an additional 139,779 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,339,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,581,000 after acquiring an additional 149,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,006,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $619,832,000 after acquiring an additional 119,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

MRK stock opened at $113.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.70 and a 200-day moving average of $123.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $287.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.32, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.