Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,842 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,377 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 136,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,654,000 after purchasing an additional 36,292 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 96,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,568,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,986,000 after acquiring an additional 57,081 shares in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 3,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,616,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,266,000 after acquiring an additional 134,403 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of MRK opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.80 and a 200 day moving average of $108.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.