Kingfisher Capital LLC Buys 130 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kingfisher Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,706 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MRK opened at $103.12 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $260.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

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.