Bank of Hawaii Sells 4,072 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Bank of Hawaii reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3%, selling 4,072 shares and leaving them with a total of 60,370 shares worth approximately $5.42 million.
• Merck recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.03, but its revenue was slightly below the consensus estimate at $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.7%, to be paid on October 7th to stockholders on record by September 15th.

Bank of Hawaii trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,370 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,072 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ally Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the first quarter. Ally Financial Inc. now owns 113,000 shares of the company's stock worth $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% in the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 20,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108,589 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 54,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 472.5% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 15,286 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%

MRK stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.13. The company had a trading volume of 10,869,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,285,894. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.