Hedges Asset Management LLC Sells 1,050 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hedges Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.5% of Hedges Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Hedges Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $3,108,366,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,847,000 after buying an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $724,776,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,682,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,966,029,000 after acquiring an additional 4,731,152 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $114.07. 1,812,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,673,633. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $288.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.78, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.83 and a 200 day moving average of $126.09. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

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.