Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,414 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.2% of Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Citigroup upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.75.
Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8 %
MRK stock opened at $114.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.64. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.52 and a fifty-two week high of $119.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $290.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.03%.
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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.
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