Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $29.55 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 260,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,556 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,544,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,919,787. 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 firm has a market cap of $247.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $108.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

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.