Old Port Advisors Sells 260 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Old Port Advisors decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $99.55. 1,253,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,339,234. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.