Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,752 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Country Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.7% in the second quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the second quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 7,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the second quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the second quarter. Pennsylvania Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 4,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.55. The stock had a trading volume of 5,914,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,698,703. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $290.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.28, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.