Southland Equity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Southland Equity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 454.8% during the first quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 20,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 17,051 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 29,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 46,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 9,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $132.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $336.81 billion, a PE ratio of 147.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $128.99 and a 200 day moving average of $123.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. 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, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.