Farther Finance Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Farther Finance Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,963 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $105.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.