EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.35 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,621 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $117.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $296.77 billion, a PE ratio of 130.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 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, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.