LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Has $11.71 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,330 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.6% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $724,776,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 230.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,807,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,152 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $110.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $279.70 billion, a PE ratio of 122.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.51 and its 200-day moving average is $122.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

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.