Howard Financial Services LTD. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Societe Generale cut 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE MRK opened at $123.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.13. The stock has a market cap of $313.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.