<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,769 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. were worth $4,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Moderna Shares Spike on H5N1 News—What’s Next for Investors?</li></ul><p>Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $375,000.  William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $29,501,000.  Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 6,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter.  Williams Financial LLC bought a new position in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $3,803,000.  Finally, Seven Mile Advisory raised its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 4,743 shares of the company's stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Analysts Set New Price Targets</h2><p>A number of research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst  has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued  a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company  has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $123.67.</p><ul><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/4 - 11/8</li></ul><p><b>Read Our Latest Research Report on MRK</b></p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $100.95. The stock had a trading volume of 3,388,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,050,944. The company has a market capitalization of $255.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.18 and a 200-day moving average of $110.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. </p><ul><li>Merck vs. Bristol-Myers: Analyst Views Differ After Q3 Earnings</li></ul><p>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.  As a group, research analysts anticipate that  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Increases Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend  was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck &amp; Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Merck &amp; Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%. </p><h2>About Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</h2> (Free Report)<p>Merck &amp; 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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</li><li>Using the MarketBeat Stock Split Calculator</li><li>Rigetti Computing, Inc.: Buy, Sell, or Hold for 2025</li><li>Energy and Oil Stocks Explained</li><li>Delta Can Fly to New Highs in 2025; Here’s Why</li><li>2 Fintech Stocks to Buy Now and 1 to Avoid</li><li>Snowflake Stock: Bullish Upgrades Demand Investors' Attention</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Merck &amp; Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck &amp; Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has a &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.1% in Q4, now holding 42,933 shares valued at $4.27 million. Other institutional investors also adjusted their positions. Analysts have set new price targets for MRK, with ratings ranging from sell to strong buy. The stock is currently trading at $100.95, with a market cap of $255.37 billion. Merck reported Q3 earnings of $1.57 EPS, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $16.66 billion, up 4.4% year-over-year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend.</p>

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Has $4.27 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)