Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Massachusetts Wealth Management’s 10th Largest Position

Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,799 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.0% of Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. NTV Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $125.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.71. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.