Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Cut by Hexagon Capital Partners LLC

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first 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. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $110.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $279.32 billion, a PE ratio of 122.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.45.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

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.