Bath Savings Trust Co Has $574,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bath Savings Trust Co lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $108.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $275.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. 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 business has a 50-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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 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 analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.42.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.