Radnor Capital Management LLC Sells 17,933 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Radnor Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 529,601 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,933 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 11.9% of Radnor Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Kennedy Investment Group grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $130.72 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $133.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.24, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.49.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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 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.