New Hampshire Trust Sells 1,156 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

New Hampshire Trust decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.5% of New Hampshire Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% in the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Kalos Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total transaction of $474,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MRK opened at $107.82 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.52 and a 12 month high of $119.65. The stock has a market cap of $273.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 239.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $123.00 target price for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.74.

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.