Calton & Associates Inc. Has $245,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Calton & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 754 shares during the quarter. Calton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the second quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,681,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 158,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,587,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 20,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 4,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 454,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,208,000 after purchasing an additional 230,889 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $113.67. 10,102,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,717,050. The company’s 50-day moving average is $123.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.05. The company has a market cap of $287.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 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.