Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Decreased by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,942 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.