Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 63,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $2,250,767,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 24,251,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,983,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112,158 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,542,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,107,769,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252,367 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,569,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,846,174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,822,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428,079 shares in the last quarter. 72.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $75.79. 314,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,986,551. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.05. The stock has a market cap of $191.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.71 and a 12-month high of $87.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 15th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 12th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.10%.
Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.92.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and women's health, as well as and vaccine products.
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