Pensionfund Sabic Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 58.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Pensionfund Sabic’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $98.91. 949,505 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,227,606. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $250.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.