Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,994 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 6,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 26,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,584,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,922,000 after purchasing an additional 634,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

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.