Grandview Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Grandview Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 73.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Grandview Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total transaction of $463,292.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,500,144.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $107.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.52 and a 1 year high of $119.65. The company has a market capitalization of $272.71 billion, a PE ratio of 88.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 5.34% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 239.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.74.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.