Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 113,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,305,000 after purchasing an additional 4,751 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 138,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,811,000 after buying an additional 14,093 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 424.3% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 7,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 5,668 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MRK traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,301,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,657,724. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $251.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.