Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Decreased by LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 431 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $99.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,355,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,504,402. The stock has a market cap of $252.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 target price (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.00.

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.