Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,877 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,302,459,000 after buying an additional 3,081,402 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,468,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,042 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 29,949,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,730,513,000 after purchasing an additional 214,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.8% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,349,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,037,608,000 after purchasing an additional 7,816,470 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,026,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,477 shares during the period. 72.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $107.63 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.65 and a 12-month high of $115.49. The stock has a market cap of $273.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.53 and a 200 day moving average of $102.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.35.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total transaction of $198,016.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,609,573.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.10, for a total transaction of $198,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,085 shares in the company, valued at $3,609,573.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.