Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.42. The company has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.