Boston Financial Mangement LLC Has $8.91 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 11th, 2023

Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,264 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 72.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MRK opened at $112.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $285.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.05 and a 1 year high of $115.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were paid 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 yield of 2.59%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,251 shares of company stock worth $1,736,570 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.35.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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.