Bard Financial Services Inc. Has $10.36 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 104,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.2% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946,742 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after buying an additional 2,194,463 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on 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, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0 %

MRK stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.09. 4,042,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,330,583. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.68. The company has a market cap of $253.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.