Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) The stake was increased by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,553 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731,152 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,108,366,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,151 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s shares.

Analysts set new price targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Argus Raised Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58, according to MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest research report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading increased by 0.3%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $113.67 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.83, and its two-hundred-day moving average is $126.05. The company has a market cap of $287.90 billion, a PE ratio of 126.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Your Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announces dividends

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.08 and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc. Payout Rate is 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a global healthcare company. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health. The pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the fields of oncology, acute hospital care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes under the brands Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi and Januvia, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive vaccines for children, adolescents and adults under the names Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, MMR II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23 and Vaqta.

Further reading

Want to see what other hedge funds MRK owns? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trading for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report).

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