Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 331,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,620 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 2.1% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $37,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased 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 valued at $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. Stock Up 0.3 %

MRK stock opened at $109.73 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.59 and a 200 day moving average of $123.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.92 billion, a PE ratio of 121.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price 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, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given 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. 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.