Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Sells 97 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Home Federal Bank of Tennessee reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.7% of Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Home Federal Bank of Tennessee’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

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

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.