Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 632,355 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,332 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $62,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 7,212,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,523,000 after acquiring an additional 675,591 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 893.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 287,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,639,000 after purchasing an additional 258,910 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $2,990,000. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 27,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,742,000 after purchasing an additional 16,236 shares during the period. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $222.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.33 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.