Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Bamco Inc. NY

Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 276,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,432,000 after purchasing an additional 14,205 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,182,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,012,000 after acquiring an additional 15,779 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 71,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,399,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.26. 6,467,036 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,859,123. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.61. The company has a market cap of $317.26 billion, a PE ratio of 139.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.36.

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.