Csenge Advisory Group Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,757 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in 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 grew 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 buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew 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 buying an additional 445 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,523,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,551. 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 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $323.67 billion, a PE ratio of 142.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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