Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $100.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.