First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Sells 1,035 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.9% of First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their target price 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, Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $116.59. 8,199,828 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,674,124. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.89, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. 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 fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.87 and its 200-day moving average is $125.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

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.