Meridian Financial LLC Has $1.62 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Meridian Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 16,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 849 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.1% of Meridian Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Meridian Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average is $109.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.