Silverlake Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Silverlake Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Silverlake Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.5 %

MRK opened at $125.85 on Thursday. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.