Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Has $3.77 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,192 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,258 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $253.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.