Security National Bank of SO Dak Sells 359 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Security National Bank of SO Dak lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the period. Security National Bank of SO Dak’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $113.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.14 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

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.