Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s 10th Largest Position

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 111,057 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,780 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.2% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $99.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.20.

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.