Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,070,287 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 296,092 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $932,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $125.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.70. The company has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. 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, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

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.