MRCH

Merchants Trust Plc

558.00
-1.00 (-0.18%)
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Merchants Trust Plc LSE:MRCH London Ordinary Share GB0005800072 ORD 25P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -1.00 -0.18% 558.00 120,954 16:29:55
Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price
557.00 559.00 559.00 556.00 559.00
Industry Sector Turnover (m) Profit (m) EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap (m)
Investment Trusts Div'd 48.86 40.19 28.70 18.70 751.06
Last Trade Time Trade Type Trade Size Trade Price Currency
17:54:37 O 721 558.00 GBX

Merchants (MRCH) Latest News (1)

Merchants (MRCH) Discussions and Chat

Merchants Forums and Chat

Date Time Title Posts
11/4/202319:21MERCHANTS IT yld 6%2,196
03/1/202313:27INVESTMENT TRUSTS as an Annuity579

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Merchants (MRCH) Most Recent Trades

Trade Time Trade Price Trade Size Trade Value Trade Type
2023-06-08 16:54:53558.007214,023.18O
2023-06-08 16:40:59557.8821117.15O
2023-06-08 16:40:59559.992,16512,123.72O
2023-06-08 16:19:34556.992,81215,662.67O
2023-06-08 16:08:47557.621,5908,866.13O

Merchants (MRCH) Top Chat Posts

Top Posts
Posted at 18/2/2023 23:19 by sharesoc
In case you missed our webinar earlier this month with The Merchants Trust PLC (MRCH), the recording can be found on our YouTube channel: hTTps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgablAzF68U
Posted at 15/2/2023 21:50 by investingdad
Good to see things are still going here, I couldn't log back into my old account.Now for a rant from the usual SS about shorting MRCH...I think if you try and second guess market sentiment you often lose. That is why future betting isn't always easy and predictable.Go back a year or so, to the beginning of the war. Out of panic and necessity, I sold some positions which were shorter term holds and in profit. I felt like things could get really bad in the markets. On reflection, they didn't. Luckuly, I held onto good, proven dividend paying shares and continued to add to MRCH at around £5. It did take my average price up somewhat but having bought in the Covid downturn, it yields about 10% and I will happily take that. As I have said before, below £5 this becomes an even bigger bargain. Which was reflected in the very short term Dip below £5. At which point I did expect it to continue to retreat with the economy and was ready to buy larger amounts below £4.5.I do feel that this rise, is all too much too soon however and there will be a retreat, particularly if interest rates continue north here when we follow the FED playbook. I think if you look at rate rises vs inflation impact, it is minimal. There is more to this journey yet.
Posted at 04/2/2023 15:43 by ctrader3
U could have bought MRCH around the covid low for 300p
U have doubled your money.
U also have received 81.9p in dividends
So 10k invested would now be valued at 22.7k.

GL

Posted at 03/2/2023 22:18 by sharesoc
ShareSoc is hosting a webinar with The Merchants Trust PLC (MRCH) on 07 February 2023, which may be of interest to current shareholders or potential investors. Simon Gergel (Portfolio Manager, The Merchants Trust and CIO UK Equity, AllianzGI) will be presenting. You can register here: hTTps://www.sharesoc.org/events/sharesoc-webinar-with-the-merchants-trust-plc-mrch7-february-2023/
Posted at 17/11/2022 19:29 by gateside
When you take in account reinvested dividends, my buy price of MRCH is 339p

Though it's not one of my larger holdings. But will continue to add on any share price weakness.

Posted at 31/10/2022 14:46 by ctrader3
THE MERCHANTS TRUST: The only way is up, says boss Simon Gergel, who remains upbeat about UK stocks bringing returns in tough times
By JEFF PRESTRIDGE, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED:29 October 2022 | UPDATED: 10:59, 31 October 2022

Although the outlook for the economy is looking bleak, the investment manager of UK fund Merchants remains remarkably upbeat about his ability to generate returns for shareholders.

While acknowledging that there are short-term issues aplenty to unsettle the UK stock market, Simon Gergel believes we are 'close to peak pessimism'.

'There are some encouraging signs out there,' he says. 'In recent weeks, both oil and gas prices have fallen as have freight costs and timber prices. At some point, interest rates will take a pause for breath and then will start to fall again.'

Gergel, in charge of UK equities for investment giant Allianz Global Investors, runs a multi-faceted portfolio, built almost entirely around UK-listed companies.

As a result, the £715million stock market-listed investment trust comprises big stakes in tobacco giants (BAT and Imperial Brands), exposure to energy companies (Shell and BP), as well as commodity businesses such as Rio Tinto.

It also has holdings in a number of companies such as house builder Redrow which are currently horribly out of favour, but which Gergel believes will power ahead over the next three to five years as the economic outlook improves.

'Our modus operandi is to invest in good businesses which are undervalued by the market,' he adds. 'We then hope that their stock market fortunes will improve in the fullness of time. Redrow fits this bill.'


Gergel says the house builder's shares are 'priced for disaster' – they're down nearly 40 per cent over the past five years. Other builders and housing related stocks held by Merchants include Bellway and building materials suppliers CRH and Grafton.

The trust produces a healthy dividend, which it pays out quarterly. In the financial year to the end of January, it paid dividends totalling 27.3pence a share. So far this year, the two quarterly payments it has made – 6.85pence – are 0.05pence up on last year. Shares in Merchants are trading at £5.20.

'We don't focus on dividends when picking stocks,' says Gergel. 'If we did that, we'd miss out on some good investment opportunities. But if we get our stock selections right, dividends usually take care of themselves.'

Merchants' impressive dividend record is longstanding. It has built a 40-year record of annual dividend growth, although in the past two financial years it has had to dip into its income reserves to support payments to shareholders.

It currently has the equivalent of 16pence a share tucked away in reserves – more than half a year's dividends – which is reassuring for investors.

'UK-listed companies have done a good job in rebuilding their dividends since 2020,' says Gergel. 'It means we're on course to meeting the dividends we pay our shareholders from the income we receive from the trust's holdings.'

In terms of generating total investor returns, Gergel's approach is proving effective. Over the past five years, the trust has delivered a return of 43 per cent. This compares to a 12 per cent return from the FTSE All-Share Index.

Apart from the attractive income on offer – equivalent to an annual 5.2 per cent – Merchants takes less in charges than many rival trusts. Annual charges total 0.55 per cent. The trust's stock market identification code is 0580007 and the ticker MRCH.

Investment trusts with a similar UK equity income bent to Merchants include City of London, JPMorgan Claverhouse and Murray Income. All three have grown their annual dividends for longer than Merchants – 56 years in the case of City of London.

Posted at 26/8/2022 00:36 by mbu69
SS you are spouting the same stuff as 2 years ago on the HHI thread where for some reason MRCH ( from you ) came up I posted the compound dividend growth in MRCH in my sipp. This is a dividend based trust isn't it.

You can see the conversation from here

hTTps://uk.advfn.com/cmn/fbb/thread.php3?id=18428952&from=58

I had a small top up with in the compounding list of dividend reinvestments i posted and you said "quote: I see your thousand at £ 3.65".

madness ?

I had no guarantee the price would pick up, how could I? But it seemed at a low. The only reason for the top up. Looking at a graph and guessing if you like, basically ignoring external events with a longer time view.

Despite the media telling me everything is doom and gloom which appears to be the norm for as long as i can remember, there is always a crisis it is important to remember there are some winners in every crisis. I have no better idea than the experts do as to what what will be the reality of the world will be in 5 years+ time.

The MRCH share price may go back to £3 tomorrow or the Putin may die tomorrow and a really nice chap who loves the EU ( or at least selling gas to it ) takes over or we all get monkey pox and lock down again or china does something nuts or it never rains again. All I know is that if you have time with an investment don't sell but compound.

I think it's very very hard to get rich quickly but relatively easy to get a little wealthier than average if you have the luxury of a longer time span. Compounding works refer to Einstein.

If you want less compounding more potential growth buy some SMT/SSON or VUSA ETF but they are a bit depressing when things are going down due to the lack of or tiny distributions and compounding.

Chill out!

Did you spot the relatively bit combined with Einstein in the same sentence ?


Regards Mark

Posted at 23/8/2022 09:35 by jfinvestments
SS: From what I can see today, MRCH has barely taken a hit, lots of trusts have gained. Of course US markets open later and that will truly signal appetite. But I also looked at your MRCH and DJI comparison. They both hit their recent low in June. The dow hitting 28300 or so and MRCH at 523p. Since then to their highs the DJI recovered about 23% and MRCH 8 or 9%. The fact that at its recent low of 523p you are unlocking 5.2% yield will always help recovery. However the industrial average and MRCH aren't that linked on a stock by stock basis, it is market appetite which you are really gauging. If there is continued loss of appetite (due to fed hikes) then MRCH will drop as will near enough all equities. Friday will bring a little more clarification, but don't forget that the weakening pound also makes equities more attractive. And through our fine government we are at the weakest point since March 20.
Posted at 21/8/2022 23:50 by goldpiguk
Hi Superiorshares,

I really do not agree with your views about the dividend here. I am confident MRCH dividends will continue to grow, although not keeping pace with inflation over the next year or so.

Many investors focus on the dividend payout and often complain when companies choose to return money to shareholders via share buybacks. Professional investors point out that companies like to do share buybacks when they believe their company shares are seriously undervalued by the market. Not only does MRCH pay out a high sustainable dividend, but many of the investments it holds are currently engaged in share buybacks. That augers well for dividend growth and capital appreciation.

Just for fun, I have looked at the ten largest holdings as of 4th August 2022. By size of holding:

2.) BAT - currently buying back £2 billion, to be completed by 31/12/22.
3.) Imperial Brands - Announced that from 2023 will have more than £1 billion of post dividend free cash flow a year available for share buybacks.
4.) Shell - $6 billion share buyback in the current quarter.
5.) I G Group - $150 million share buyback, $75 million before January 21st, 2023.
9.) BP - $3.5 billion buyback in the current quarter.
10.) BAE systems - In July announced a £1.5 billion buyback over the next three years.

Top Ten companies not mentioned above.

1.) GSK - Flagged well in advance the dividend would be cut after split into two companies. Currently weak due to worries over zantac litigation.

6.) Homeserve - Has now accepted £4.08 billion bid. Court approval is expected in Q.4.

7.) Rio Tinto - Although dividend has been slashed it still maintains a high payout. The cut is not a problem for MRCH. (It poses far greater problems for IT's like HFEL. See HFEL board.)

8.) Legal & General - A great company, high dividend and growth with strong dividend cover.

With six of the top ten companies planning or engaged in share buybacks, one company in the process of being taken over, the MRCH portfolio looks well placed to reward long-term holders.

Goldpig

Posted at 11/8/2022 19:53 by zac0_4
janeann - that's one of the reasons why I now prefer funds / trusts to individual dividend paying shares. A 10% drop in GSK share price equates to a 0.55% reduction to MRCH share price. I see no reason to sell.
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