Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Veracity Capital LLC

Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,916 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $268,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $7,240,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,002,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,312,443. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.33 and a 200-day moving average of $124.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.