NBC Securities Inc. Acquires 1,507 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,514 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Somerset Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5% in the first quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 6,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.9% during the first quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. VERITY Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $214,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 92,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares during the period. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $332,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.68 and a 200-day moving average of $123.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $324.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Societe Generale cut 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. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.