Hedeker Wealth LLC Has $7.97 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,379 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.3% of Hedeker Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Hedeker Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 15,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.8% in the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 20,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 2,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.6% in the first quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $125.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a PE ratio of 139.83, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.70. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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.