Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Increased by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 345,225 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,441 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.8% of Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $39,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

MRK opened at $99.17 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.