Norway Savings Bank Raises Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Norway Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,121 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.11. The company had a trading volume of 6,401,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,128,113. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.