Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKFree Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,213 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,349 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

View Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.91. The company had a trading volume of 983,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,359,974. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.43. The firm has a market cap of $326.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRKGet Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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