Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Has $6.50 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 4.1% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. now owns 13,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Source Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. CGN Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 26,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $92.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $232.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.37. 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 $81.04 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 45.35% and a net margin of 26.67%. The company had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 48.14%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cristal N. Downing sold 2,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $209,562.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,864.60. This represents a 24.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Inge G. Thulin purchased 2,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $88.25 per share, with a total value of $250,012.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $258,837.25. This represents a 2,833.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.