Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $375,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,501,000. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 6,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $3,803,000. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $100.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,771,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,109,449. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $100.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $254.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost 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 3.21%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.