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

First City Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,976 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.2% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $132,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.5% during the third quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 459.8% during the third quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 12,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MRK traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,708,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,380,258. The stock has a market cap of $251.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.10. 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. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders 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 3.27%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.