Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 20th, 2023

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,960 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.8% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after acquiring an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,314,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,919,542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,051,945 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,671.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,099,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,400,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,643,267,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000,816 shares in the last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $109.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.57. The company has a market capitalization of $277.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.39 and a 1 year high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.75.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $7,608,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 154,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,766,695. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 53,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.01, for a total transaction of $6,355,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,770,831.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard R. Deluca sold 66,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $7,608,745.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 154,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,766,695. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.