Diversified Trust Co Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversified Trust Co trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 125,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,309 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.5% of Diversified Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in 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. Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $323.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.