Financial Strategies Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Financial Strategies Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Societe Generale cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $127.72 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.49 billion, a PE ratio of 141.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.