Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,556 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 3.0% of A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Visionary Wealth Advisors increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 12,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 65.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 261,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,552,000 after buying an additional 22,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.85 on Thursday, hitting $109.42. 1,310,300 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,745,653. The company has a market capitalization of $277.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $114.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.