ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC Buys 726 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,733 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.1% of ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

MRK traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $129.48. 551,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,356,726. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $327.95 billion, a PE ratio of 143.44, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.97 and its 200-day moving average is $125.43.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. 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.