Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,759,800,000 after buying an additional 1,836,505 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after buying an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.80 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.67. The firm has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (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, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

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.