Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Sells 919 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 919 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.5% of Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $80.44 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $118.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.24. The firm has a market cap of $200.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.