GoalVest Advisory LLC Has $998,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GoalVest Advisory LLC lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,286,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 6,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 223,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,869 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

MRK stock opened at $95.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.