Perpetual Ltd Acquires 5,617 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 420,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,617 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $110.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $114.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $279.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.53, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.