Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Sells 228 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.5% of Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.66. The company had a trading volume of 572,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,560,556. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $292.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.53, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. 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 weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.