Monterey Private Wealth Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Monterey Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3 %

MRK stock opened at $129.69 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $328.48 billion, a PE ratio of 144.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.76 and a 200 day moving average of $123.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.