Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Has $445,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 32,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 176,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,036,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 112.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,288,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,281,000 after purchasing an additional 446,369 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $107.27. 2,399,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,738,206. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.31 and a 200 day moving average of $122.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.69 billion, a PE ratio of 120.78, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.