tru Independence LLC Sells 1,249 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

tru Independence LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,249 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.0% of tru Independence LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 879,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,995,000 after purchasing an additional 11,011 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $210,000. Consilio Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 14,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $323.49 billion, a PE ratio of 141.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. 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 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

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.