Power Corp of Canada Makes New $351,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by MarketBeat News on Mar 16th, 2023

Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. FMR LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.8% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,349,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,037,608,000 after buying an additional 7,816,470 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,400,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915,334 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48,148.9% in the second quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,214,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,412,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205,325 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 256.3% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,882,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511,900 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,302,459,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. 72.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Bank of America raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Mizuho began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

MRK opened at $107.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $273.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.65 and a 12 month high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.