Peoples Financial Services CORP. decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,083 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after acquiring an additional 169,536 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.60% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Atlantic Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.75.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %
MRK opened at $114.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.52 and a twelve month high of $119.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 37.92%. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.03%.
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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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