Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 82.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,906 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,004 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 15,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $1,788,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 36,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,606,000 after buying an additional 3,916 shares during the last quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 181,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,105,000 after buying an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 24,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

MRK stock traded down $2.70 during trading on Monday, hitting $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.