Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Has $5.18 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,524 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $12.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.21. The company had a trading volume of 35,503,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,485,705. 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 firm has a market cap of $291.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.01, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $127.75 and a 200-day moving average of $126.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.