Old North State Trust LLC buys 160 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

VaselineSeptember 30, 2024

0 4 minutes read

Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,654 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s shares.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $113.69 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.70 and a two hundred day simple moving average of $124.02. Merck & Co., Inc. it has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $287.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Your Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. In the same period last year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% year over year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announces dividends

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16. This represents an annualized dividend of $3.08 and a yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc. Payout Rate it is currently 342.22%.

Analysts on Wall Street are forecasting an increase

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI Raised Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus picked up Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58, according to MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest stock report on Merck & Co., Inc.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a global healthcare company. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health. The pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the fields of oncology, acute hospital care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes under the brands Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi and Januvia, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive vaccines for children, adolescents and adults under the names Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, MMR II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23 and Vaqta.