Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC

Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.7% of Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NTV Asset Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.67. The stock had a trading volume of 4,945,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,277,381. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $128.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $330.96 billion, a PE ratio of 145.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.