Saxon Interests Inc. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Saxon Interests Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,782 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

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.