Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,421 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. Finally, Neumann Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Neumann Capital Management LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MRK traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $118.68. The stock had a trading volume of 952,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,557,701. The company has a market capitalization of $300.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.