Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 15,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.6% in the second quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,190,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,566,000 after buying an additional 25,038 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 5,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the second quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $99.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,708,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,380,258. The company has a market capitalization of $251.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.