By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Acorn Creek Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 577 shares during the quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 56,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 10,852 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 32,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,266,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 19,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %
MRK stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.80 and a 200-day moving average of $108.56.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.
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.
Further Reading
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