Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. Has $24.38 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 184,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 845 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.9% of Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $24,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NTV Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 12,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $129.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.76 and its 200 day moving average is $123.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $133.10. The firm has a market cap of $328.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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 under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.