Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Albion Financial Group UT

Albion Financial Group UT lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 47,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of MRK traded down $1.87 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.85. 4,001,877 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,506,952. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a PE ratio of 140.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.70. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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.