Bourgeon Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bourgeon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,556 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 3.7% of Bourgeon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $125.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 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 $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $318.75 billion, a PE ratio of 139.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.33 and its 200-day moving average is $124.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank lifted 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 note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.