Stablepoint Partners LLC Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,442 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Stablepoint Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $188,000. Twin Focus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,551,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,477,357,000 after buying an additional 212,852 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $0.26 on Monday, hitting $109.47. 650,210 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,727,641. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.59 and its 200 day moving average is $123.08. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $277.27 billion, a PE ratio of 121.92, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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 net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.