Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,852 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 410,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,852 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $47,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 103,159.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 39,327,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,363,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,289,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $2,736,293,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,314,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,919,542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,051,945 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 35,734,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,801,839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,281,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,294,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Truist Financial raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.74.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total value of $463,292.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,500,144.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.52 and a 1 year high of $119.65. The firm has a market cap of $273.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.38, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.18) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.