Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Towercrest Capital Management

Towercrest Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Towercrest Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 8,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the second quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 30,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 74,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,183,000 after buying an additional 6,044 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $354,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.84. 8,577,276 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,621,607. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $119.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.07.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.