AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,005,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,472 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $100,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $409,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.4% in the second quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.