Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $108.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $114.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a PE ratio of 120.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

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.