Massachusetts Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,374 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.9% of Massachusetts Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,185.5% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 333,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,385,000 after acquiring an additional 307,780 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 48,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,310,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $118.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,876,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,545,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.41. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.61, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.