Grassi Investment Management Purchases New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Grassi Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 106,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,273,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Grassi Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 32,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,451,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 7,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $273.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.52 and a 52-week high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 239.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $474,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.