Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 913 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $6.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.80. The stock had a trading volume of 57,055,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,215,418. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.27. The firm has a market cap of $313.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

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.