1ST Source Bank Buys 9,044 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

1ST Source Bank raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,044 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.7% of 1ST Source Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $293.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.73, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.62. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

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.