Fluent Financial LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fluent Financial LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,737 shares during the period. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,898,000 after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after buying an additional 22,578 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.77. 9,721,325 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,784,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $278.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.37 and a 200 day moving average of $123.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.06) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.