Studio Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,611 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Studio Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 43,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% in the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 12,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 328,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,294,000 after buying an additional 6,171 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 29,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.12. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.