Talbot Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Talbot Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,942 shares during the quarter. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of Kansas grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the third quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 42,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,860,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 22,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 1,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 7,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $108.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.81 billion, a PE ratio of 120.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.98 and a 200-day moving average of $123.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.