Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Trimmed by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 247,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 641 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.7% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,433 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $1,359,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $48,921,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $1.95 during trading on Monday, hitting $106.75. 5,515,430 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,753,557. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average is $114.31 and its 200 day moving average is $122.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for 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. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 342.22%.

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.