American Trust Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

American Trust lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 923 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3,714.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,023,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,860.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,494,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $112.03 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.75 billion, a PE ratio of 124.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” 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 research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. 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.