Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,635 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,635 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 29,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Floyd Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $445,000. Pines Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $678,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 21,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.70 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $252.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.19.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.