DMC Group LLC Sells 397 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

DMC Group LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,138 shares of the company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.2% of DMC Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. DMC Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 12,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,661,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3% during the first quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 6,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $268,000. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.3% in the first quarter. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.2% during the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 28,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 9,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0 %

MRK opened at $108.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

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.