Atticus Wealth Management LLC Sells 561 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Atticus Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 561 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of MRK stock traded down $6.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $123.80. 57,055,458 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.27. The company has a market cap of $313.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. TheStreet downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.