OneAscent Financial Services LLC Sells 6,662 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

OneAscent Financial Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,662 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after buying an additional 5,094,088 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $107.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $266.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $112.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.28.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.20.

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.