Alaethes Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alaethes Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,728 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $117.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.30. The company has a market capitalization of $296.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.18, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.