Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Harrell Investment Partners LLC

Harrell Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,255 shares of the company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.6% of Harrell Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Harrell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated 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, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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 data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.