Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,816 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Hoey Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 17,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Towercrest Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Towercrest Capital Management now owns 9,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 15,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,043,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.5% in the first quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 31,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,129,000 after buying an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $125.77. 6,848,758 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,046,289. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.36.

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.