Navalign LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Navalign LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Navalign LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $454,000. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Pegasus Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 537.4% in the 3rd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 147.4% in the 3rd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 128,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,203,000 after purchasing an additional 76,405 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $132.98 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $133.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $336.81 billion, a PE ratio of 147.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $15.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.21 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 3.76%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 342.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Argus raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.00.

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 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.