Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,154 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.2% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,314,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,919,542,000 after buying an additional 11,051,945 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,734,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,801,839,000 after acquiring an additional 8,281,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,294,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.52 and a 1-year high of $119.65. The stock has a market cap of $273.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200 day simple 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 239.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. HSBC started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $123.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.74.

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

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares in the company, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.