Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,672 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,643 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $129.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $326.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.44, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

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.