Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Peoples Financial Services CORP.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.1% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.1% during the first quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.0% during the first quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Kalos Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $64,000. 74.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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. HSBC began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $123.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7 %

MRK stock opened at $107.52 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $107.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $272.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.13, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $84.52 and a one year high of $119.65.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $14.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 2.72%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,500,144.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.