City Holding Co. Buys 2,741 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,725 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,741 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $108.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.