Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Sells 71,993 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,993 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% in the first quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 20,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 30,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the first quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 6,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.5% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 4,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $129.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.76 and a 200-day moving average of $123.07. 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 stock has a market cap of $328.48 billion, a PE ratio of 144.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.