Focus Financial Network Inc. Buys 2,741 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,632 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,288,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $115.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,323,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,640,919. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.92. The firm has a market cap of $292.92 billion, a PE ratio of 128.19, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.