Tarbox Family Office Inc. Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Tarbox Family Office Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 40.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Tarbox Family Office Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3 %

MRK stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $129.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,923,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,147,509. The company has a market cap of $328.73 billion, a PE ratio of 144.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. 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 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.27 and its 200-day moving average is $123.96.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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.