Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,873 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MRK opened at $100.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $107.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

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.