Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 10th, 2023

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,018 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% in 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 during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares in the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares in the last quarter. 76.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. BTIG Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,296.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Rita A. Karachun sold 15,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.53, for a total transaction of $1,865,788.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,372,296.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert M. Davis sold 143,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.93, for a total transaction of $16,472,801.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 271,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,239,927.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 488,258 shares of company stock worth $56,481,018 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.5 %

MRK stock opened at $109.00 on Monday. 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 $84.52 and a 1-year high of $119.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $113.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.86. The firm has a market cap of $276.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 57.03%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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