Global Assets Advisory LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 268,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,415,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $132.98 on Tuesday. 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 $336.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.70.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.