Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Trimmed by Donald L. Hagan LLC

Donald L. Hagan LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 514 shares during the period. Donald L. Hagan LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

MRK stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.67. 10,102,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $287.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $123.83 and its 200-day moving average is $126.09.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.