Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC Sells 942 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.8% of Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Societe Generale lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $6.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.80. 57,055,458 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.14 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $313.56 billion, a PE ratio of 137.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.