JMG Financial Group Ltd. Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 11th, 2023

JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 224,134,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,302,459,000 after buying an additional 3,081,402 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,079,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,468,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077,042 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 12,162,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,461,000 after acquiring an additional 265,432 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,760,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,786,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,787 shares during the last quarter. 72.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $112.61 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.05 and a 1 year high of $115.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $285.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.56 and its 200-day moving average is $104.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $535,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,900 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,251 shares of company stock worth $1,736,570. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Atlantic Securities raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. SVB Leerink raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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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.