SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,459 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 38,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the third quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 16,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 11,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 17,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 28,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $99.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $250.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $107.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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 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.