Kerusso Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,926,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 2.1% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.6 %

MRK opened at $117.84 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $119.93 and a 200-day moving average of $125.07. The stock has a market cap of $298.47 billion, a PE ratio of 130.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.