Brandes Investment Partners LP Purchases 127,240 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,359,766 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,240 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.1% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $168,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $113.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $287.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $116.70 and its 200 day moving average is $124.02.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

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.