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

Fluent Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,737 shares during the period. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $794,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865,948 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $724,776,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 85,595,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,331,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,153,333 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,473,346 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on 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, Barclays lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4 %

MRK traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.77. 9,721,325 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,784,917. 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. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $278.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $115.37 and a 200 day moving average of $123.66.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.