First City Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First City Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,332 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.9% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $117.17 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $117.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $296.77 billion, a PE ratio of 130.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.