Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Vicus Capital

Vicus Capital raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

MRK stock traded down $6.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.80. The stock had a trading volume of 57,055,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.32 and a 200 day moving average of $124.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.56, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

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.