Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 125.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 848,781 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 472,479 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $111,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,428,000. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 13,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 952,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,019,000 after acquiring an additional 98,502 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 25,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,660,000 after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 837,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,192,000 after purchasing an additional 55,376 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.99 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $324.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $128.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.