Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Community Bank N.A.’s 9th Largest Position

Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,213 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Community Bank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 35,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,717,000 after purchasing an additional 10,179 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the second quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 11,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the second quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 6,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after buying an additional 12,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 6,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE MRK opened at $101.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $105.54 and a 200-day moving average of $116.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $257.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.