Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,390 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 5.0% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 1,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.89, for a total transaction of $124,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,569 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,972.41. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 50,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.65, for a total value of $6,420,395.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,346.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2 %

MRK traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.95. The company had a trading volume of 10,189,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,400,490. The stock has a market cap of $334.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 942.29, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.49 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 0.61%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Societe Generale cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $104.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

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.