Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wahed Invest LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,451,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.2% in the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,730,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $104.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $103.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.53 billion, a PE ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.36 and a 1 year high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 18.26% and a net margin of 7.77%. The company had revenue of $16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 162.22%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total transaction of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 43,823 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $4,602,729.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,738,572.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johannes Jacobus Oosthuizen sold 2,081 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.38, for a total value of $213,052.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,191 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,394.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $122.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, October 6th. TheStreet upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.14.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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