CFO4Life Group LLC Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CFO4Life Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.09. 2,686,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,372,781. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.97 and a 200 day moving average of $125.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $324.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.44, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.