Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 127,214 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,344,097 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,214 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $166,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $117.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $117.85 and its 200-day moving average is $124.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.77 billion, a PE ratio of 130.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.