Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires 16,466 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,466 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.8% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $323.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.