Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $375,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $29,501,000. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 6,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,803,000. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $1.69 on Monday, reaching $100.94. The stock had a trading volume of 4,000,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,133,164. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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 company has a market cap of $255.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.