Janiczek Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,884 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $129.79 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.27 and its 200-day moving average is $123.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $328.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.