Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $129.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.73 billion, a PE ratio of 144.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors 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 2.37%. 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 research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.