Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 212,852 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,551,242 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 212,852 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.54% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $1,477,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after buying an additional 3,153,333 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $3,966,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,731,152 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,859,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,842 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $3,108,366,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,151 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $129.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,338,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,353,206. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $327.95 billion, a PE ratio of 143.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. 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 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.