Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,788 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.8% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $108.28. 950,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,728,853. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. 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 $274.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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 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.