Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,834 shares of the company’s stock after selling 613 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.6% of Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.86 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $293.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 128.73, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

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.