Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.5% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $125.85 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $318.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.24 and its 200-day moving average is $124.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

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.