MV Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,965 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,343 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $247,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,175.3% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 4,654 shares during the last quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 7,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.98% of the company’s stock.
In other news, EVP Frank Clyburn sold 19,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $1,513,455.68. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $76.04. The company had a trading volume of 163,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,922,932. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.71 and a 1-year high of $87.80. The company has a market cap of $192.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 29th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $12.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.71 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 54.15%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 4th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 3.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.77%.
A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Securities reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. SVB Leerink reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 3rd. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.11.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, diabetes, and women's health, as well as vaccine products.
Further Reading: Limitations of analyzing profit margin
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