D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $63.58 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 559,837 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,380 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $63,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 145,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,257,000 after acquiring an additional 29,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $1,293,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $101.19 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.54. The firm has a market cap of $255.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.