Semus Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 565 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $28,683,000 after buying an additional 169,536 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 9,376 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 4,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.60% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, March 13th. BTIG Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $128.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.83.
Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.5 %
Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $109.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.52 and a 52 week high of $119.65. The company has a market capitalization of $276.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $113.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.86.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 57.03%.
Merck & Co., Inc. 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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