Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,435,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,844 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.6% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $177,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cross Staff Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 6,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after buying an additional 4,433 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 145,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,870,000 after purchasing an additional 16,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $115.14. The stock had a trading volume of 5,274,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,680,386. 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 one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.00. The stock has a market cap of $291.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38.

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. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.58.

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.