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

Telos Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 73,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,380,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $87.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $113.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

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.