Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Lowered by Virtue Capital Management LLC

Virtue Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 519,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,947,000 after buying an additional 12,940 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,898,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 102,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,593,000 after buying an additional 7,544 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 25,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,865,000 after buying an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $101.03 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $255.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $104.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.