Financial Advisory Partners LLC Has $2.79 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial Advisory Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 594 shares during the period. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $109.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,721,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,747,752. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.36. 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 company has a market cap of $278.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.74, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Barclays lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

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.