Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 5,533 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,533 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $115.09. The company had a trading volume of 3,260,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,667,081. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.14 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $291.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.67% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 342.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.