VeraBank N.A. Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

VeraBank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,978 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $79.41 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.25. The firm has a market cap of $199.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.63% and a net margin of 25.79%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.