Manchester Capital Management LLC Has $5.83 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,182 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,154 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.7% of Manchester Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 24,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hendershot Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the first quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 15,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.73. 872,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,359,143. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $326.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

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.