Solidarity Wealth LLC Invests $1.86 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Solidarity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,860,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial reiterated 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, January 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.72. The stock had a trading volume of 13,069,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,479,509. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.