Vigilare Wealth Management Sells 231 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Vigilare Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 231 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.7% of Vigilare Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Vigilare Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.8% in the second quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 37,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,298,000 after buying an additional 8,775 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the second quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 49,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,419,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 17,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 8,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in 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 Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total value of $474,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,867,745.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.39. The company has a market capitalization of $273.60 billion, a PE ratio of 88.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.33. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 239.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. HSBC began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $123.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “a-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.