Courier Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 866 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 349,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,683,000 after acquiring an additional 169,536 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,423,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 159,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,078,000. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 4,131 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 5.0 %

NYSE MRK opened at $131.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 941.07, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Societe Generale lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.50.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,346.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total value of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,972.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.