Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,841 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $127.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.17 billion, a PE ratio of 142.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.