Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Talbot Financial LLC

Talbot Financial LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,426 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,906 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 255,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,618,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 106,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,572,000 after purchasing an additional 65,060 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $708,000. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,000. Finally, JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $1.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,665,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,080,213. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.57. The company has a market capitalization of $255.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

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.