Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Tevis Investment Management’s 7th Largest Position

Tevis Investment Management reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 3.0% of Tevis Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Tevis Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 726,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,968,000 after purchasing an additional 25,693 shares during the period. Norwood Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Norwood Financial Corp now owns 4,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 101,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,337,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE MRK opened at $123.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.14 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.56 billion, a PE ratio of 137.56, a PEG ratio of 2.51 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $129.32 and its 200 day moving average is $124.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. 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.