Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Founders Financial Securities LLC

Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,802 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 8,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 5,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Vicus Capital raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 8,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Chemung Canal Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.5% in the first quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 105,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,908,000 after purchasing an additional 17,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 11,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of MRK traded down $6.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.80. 57,055,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. 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 cap of $313.56 billion, a PE ratio of 137.56, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.32 and its 200-day moving average is $124.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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.