Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Journey Advisory Group LLC

Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.18 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.