Legacy Private Trust Co. Has $2.84 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 519,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,689,000 after buying an additional 16,392 shares during the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $891,000. Sterneck Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $319,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $99.84. The company had a trading volume of 8,635,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,372,226. 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. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.26. The stock has a market cap of $252.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.