L & S Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

L & S Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 52.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,130 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.97 on Thursday, reaching $100.41. 10,818,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,996,504. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $254.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.44 and a 200-day moving average of $118.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. 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 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.