Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by SOL Capital Management CO

SOL Capital Management CO reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price 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. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.