Bridgeworth LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial News Live · Aug 6, 2022 23:11

Bridgeworth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 28,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,366,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 604 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 3,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.88% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 27th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 6th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Atlantic Securities increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Finally, SVB Leerink reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, June 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $221.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $90.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.89 and a 1-year high of $95.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $14.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.00% and a return on equity of 50.02%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.27%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

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