Buckley Wealth Management LLC Has $7 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Buckley Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.2% of Buckley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Buckley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.70. The stock had a trading volume of 9,523,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,769,570. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.