Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd Purchases Shares of 8,658 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $100.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $255.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.36.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.