Zacks Investment Management Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Zacks Investment Management has increased its investment in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.8% during the third quarter, as reported in their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After acquiring an additional 115,880 shares, the firm now holds a total of 1,191,718 shares in Merck, which represents roughly 1.2% of their overall investment portfolio, positioning it as their 22nd largest investment. The value of Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Merck was estimated at $135,332,000 at the end of the reporting period.

Other Institutional Investors

Numerous other institutional investors and hedge funds have also been active in buying and selling shares of Merck. For example, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake by 16.6% during the third quarter, now owning 63,101 shares worth $7,211,000 after acquiring 8,985 shares. Similarly, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its ownership by 2.8%, controlling 18,807,293 shares valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans also increased their position by 3.5%, now holding 1,837,354 shares worth $208,649,000. Furthermore, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake by 3.3%, ultimately owning 1,102,540 shares valued at $125,204,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc., notably, enlarged its investment by 30.2%, now possessing 246,414 shares worth $27,983,000. Overall, institutional investors hold approximately 76.07% of Merck's stock.

Analysts and Price Target Adjustments

Recently, various brokerages have updated their price targets for Merck's shares. Morgan Stanley cut its target from $130.00 to $123.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating. Additionally, Wells Fargo reduced its target from $125.00 to $110.00, also assigning an "equal weight" rating. Conversely, Citigroup lowered its target from $140.00 to $130.00 while offering a "buy" rating. HSBC upgraded Merck from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, setting a target of $130.00. Truist Financial also revised its price target down from $132.00 to $130.00 with a "buy" rating. Currently, one analyst rates Merck as a sell, six have a hold rating, eleven classify it as a buy, and four give it a strong buy recommendation. This leads to an overall consensus of a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $130.80, according to MarketBeat.com.

Merck's Stock Performance

As of Friday, MRK shares opened at $103.07. Over the past year, Merck's stock has seen a low of $94.48 and a high of $134.63. The company's market capitalization stands at $260.73 billion with a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61 and a PEG ratio of 1.46. Additionally, the stock possesses a beta of 0.39, alongside a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Furthermore, Merck's quick ratio is 1.15, and its current ratio is 1.36. The 50-day simple moving average for the stock is $104.52, while the 200-day simple moving average is $116.16.

Merck's Recent Earnings Report

Merck released its quarterly earnings on October 31st, reporting earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.50 by $0.07. The company demonstrated a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. In terms of revenue, Merck generated $16.66 billion for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Comparatively, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share during the same quarter last year, reflecting a 4.4% year-over-year revenue increase. Analysts forecast Merck's earnings per share for the current fiscal year to reach 7.73.

Dividend Announcement by Merck

Recently, Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which will be paid on January 8th to shareholders on record as of December 16th. The dividend ex-date will also be December 16th. This marks an increase from Merck's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.14%. Merck currently maintains a dividend payout ratio of 64.57%.

Company Overview: Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a global healthcare company with a focus on two main segments: Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment produces a range of human health pharmaceutical products across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, and more. Their notable products include Keytruda, Bridion, and the Gardasil vaccine series, among others.

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