Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by KRS Capital Management LLC

KRS Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 893 shares during the quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.