Successful Portfolios LLC Decreases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Successful Portfolios LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the period. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $127.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.95 billion, a PE ratio of 142.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $129.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TheStreet cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.