First County Bank CT Has $2.26 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

First County Bank CT cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,909 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.1% of First County Bank CT’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.41 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.12. The stock has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.