Sfmg LLC Sells 128 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sfmg LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,733 shares of the company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $114.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $117.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $291.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.