Guardian Capital Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Guardian Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,774 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Guardian Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,108,366,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.26. 6,467,036 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,859,123. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $317.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.18, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.36.

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.