Rockland Trust Co. Sells 814 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 407,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 814 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.8% of Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MRK opened at $130.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $133.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $128.85 and a 200-day moving average of $123.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $331.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 14.05%. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average 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.