EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,123 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,461 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $24,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 5,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $211,000. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $412,000. Keystone Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the second quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the second quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $103.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.16. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 3.14%. 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

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 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 given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.80.

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.