Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Clean Yield Group

Clean Yield Group trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 470 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $108.30 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.67. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $274.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.42.

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.