Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $18.12 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,315 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,057 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NTV Asset Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.34 and its 200 day moving average is $124.55. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $323.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 141.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed 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 raised their price objective 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. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.