Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after buying an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,102,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,204,000 after buying an additional 34,715 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $99.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of 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 note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.