ARS Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 122,933 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.