Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Lowered by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 718 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $474,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,867,745.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $107.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.90 and its 200-day moving average is $110.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.52 and a 52 week high of $119.65. The firm has a market cap of $272.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 5.34% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.34%.

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, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.