Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 61.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,276 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,162 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.0% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised 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, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE MRK traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $116.60. 8,368,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,672,231. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.72. The company has a market capitalization of $295.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

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.