Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,858,482 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,549 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $324,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.