LVW Advisors LLC Purchases 656 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,464 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 656 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $323.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.11, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 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. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.