Albion Financial Group UT Has $6.33 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Albion Financial Group UT lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.85. 4,001,877 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,506,952. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.75 billion, a PE ratio of 140.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

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.