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

Evanson Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,107 shares during the quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.