Brooklyn Investment Group Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Brooklyn Investment Group decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,794 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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