Circle Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,885 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Circle Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,885 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.5% of Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Circle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.