Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Decreased by Financial Perspectives Inc

Financial Perspectives Inc cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,274 shares of the company’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 12,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares in the last quarter. Rainsberger Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the third quarter. Rainsberger Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 13,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,119,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,351,000 after buying an additional 55,012 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 151.2% in the third quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 4,784 shares during the period. Finally, Cito Capital Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 20,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $125.85. 4,002,054 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,312,443. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.77 dividend. 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 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. 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 given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.