Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 113,798 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 740,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113,798 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $73,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $409,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.4% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 20,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average is $108.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.