Eads & Heald Wealth Management Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XML Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 68,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,773,000 after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 861,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,446,000 after purchasing an additional 52,070 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 14,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 42,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,280,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $95.72 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.