SouthState Corp Purchases 1,696 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

SouthState Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,246 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $80.73 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $201.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.