Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.6% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $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. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4 %

MRK stock opened at $127.99 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $133.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $128.68 and its 200 day moving average is $123.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $324.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.21, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target 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 reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday. TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.