FLC Capital Advisors Sells 2,479 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

FLC Capital Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,479 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.8% of FLC Capital Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 44,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,409,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 23,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,577,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Bremer Bank National Association lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 51,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,143,000 after purchasing an additional 14,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AHL Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.61. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.31%. 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 presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price 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 assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

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.