Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Has $5.66 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 784 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.8% in the second quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 78.0% during the second quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 6,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the second quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 4,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.3% in the second quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $116.59. The stock had a trading volume of 8,199,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,674,124. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $295.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.