Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,610 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. TD Cowen increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $109.21 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.90. The stock has a market cap of $271.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.