Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 181.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,775 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, March 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %
Shares of MRK stock opened at $112.33 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.05 and a 52 week high of $115.49. The stock has a market cap of $285.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.
Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.
In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $535,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,734,300. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 16,251 shares of company stock valued at $1,736,570 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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