Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 180,047 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.0% of Argent Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 77,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,433 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.9% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,636,000 after buying an additional 22,578 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $118.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.63 billion, a PE ratio of 131.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $118.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.14 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

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.