EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 2,045 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,218 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,333 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731,152 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $3,108,366,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,562,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,345,653. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.00, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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 lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.