Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Reduced by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,420 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.6% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after buying an additional 3,153,333 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,966,029,000 after buying an additional 4,731,152 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,108,366,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,972,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,255,000 after buying an additional 1,696,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,566,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,479,071,000 after buying an additional 228,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $125.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.70. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. 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 objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.