Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Increased by Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,352 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $108.70 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.31 and its 200-day moving average is $122.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.