Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,518 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 479,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,274,000 after buying an additional 20,448 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 30,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 4,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 37,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,205,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $107.20. 4,171,104 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,746,935. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.52 billion, a PE ratio of 120.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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