Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 157,390 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial cut 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 research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $103.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $260.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

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.