Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Sells 13,523 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,523 shares during the quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.12 and a 200 day moving average of $110.12. The company has a market capitalization of $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered 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, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned 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 an average target price of $123.67.

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.