FLC Capital Advisors Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

FLC Capital Advisors lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,479 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 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 reporting period.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G 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 50-day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.61. 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.