Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Widmann Financial Services Inc.

Widmann Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Widmann Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IRON Financial LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Associates Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 1,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $101.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.54 and a 200-day moving average of $116.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

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.