Kathmere Capital Management LLC Has $2.02 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,462 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 32,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,451,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 4,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 7,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total value of $474,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $107.52 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.87 and its 200 day moving average is $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $272.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $84.52 and a one year high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, September 1st. HSBC started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.