Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 34,505 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.1%, selling 34,505 shares and holding 92,619 shares valued at approximately $8.3 million.
• The company reported earnings of $2.22 per share for the last quarter, slightly exceeding analyst estimates, although its revenue decreased by 1.6% year-over-year.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.82%, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,505 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

MRK stock opened at $84.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.03 and a 200-day moving average of $85.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $128.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.59 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.23% and a net margin of 27.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.

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