Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by CNB Bank

CNB Bank boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,653 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.9% of CNB Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. CNB Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.06. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.