Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Cedrus LLC

Cedrus LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,869 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,032 shares during the period. Cedrus LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $108.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.34. The stock has a market cap of $275.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

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.