Sentinel Trust Co. LBA reduced its position in shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 66.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,980 shares during the period. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA’s holdings in Merck & were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vigilant Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & by 16.7% in the first quarter. Vigilant Capital Management LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & by 15.5% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & during the first quarter worth approximately $127,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Merck & by 41.3% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & during the first quarter worth approximately $152,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.73% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK) traded up 0.32% during trading on Friday, hitting $62.38. The stock had a trading volume of 6,050,985 shares. The company has a market cap of $170.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.36 and its 200-day moving average is $63.80. Merck & Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.29 and a 12-month high of $66.80.
Merck & (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $9.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Merck & had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 17.14%. Merck &’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Company, Inc. will post $3.87 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Merck &’s payout ratio is 76.11%.
Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Credit Suisse Group set a $72.00 price target on Merck & and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. BidaskClub cut Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Merck & in a research report on Sunday, April 23rd. Vetr cut Merck & from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.99 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Merck & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.58.
Merck & Company Profile
Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company. The Company offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Healthcare Services and Alliances. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products marketed either directly by the Company or through joint ventures.
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