PFW Advisors LLC Takes $212,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $130.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The company has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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.