Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,799 shares of the company after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the same period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.0% of Massachusetts Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Massachusetts Wealth Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,876,000, according to its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their holdings in MRK. NTV Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the shares are currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. share price development

NYSE:MRK opened at $125.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.33 and a 200-day moving average of $124.71. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.83, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25. The company reported earnings per share of $2.07 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenues of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.21 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company reported earnings per share of $1.40. The company's quarterly revenue grew 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will report earnings per share of $8.62 for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announces dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will receive a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.08 and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street analysts comment

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating, and two have given a strong buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Check out our latest report on Merck & Co., Inc.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free report)

Merck & Co, Inc. is a global healthcare company. It operates in two segments: Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health. The Pharmaceuticals segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, acute hospital care, immunology, neurology, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes under the brands Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi and Januvia, as well as vaccine products, including preventive vaccines for children, adolescents and adults under the names Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, MMR II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23 and Vaqta.

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