Mcrae Capital Management Inc. Has $1.12 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.60. The company had a trading volume of 8,360,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,672,231. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.72. The stock has a market cap of $295.33 billion, a PE ratio of 129.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. 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 research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.