Marshall Financial Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Marshall Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $125.85. 4,002,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,312,443. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.33 and a 200 day moving average of $124.71. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

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.