Apella Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,003 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 7,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 3,858 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 91,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,023,000 after acquiring an additional 13,967 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,483 shares during the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 3,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.33 on Wednesday, reaching $112.48. 9,746,966 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,719,865. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $284.89 billion, a PE ratio of 124.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.