Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Sells 530 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.3% of Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. 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.