Mutual Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Mutual Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. True North Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 12,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 13,976 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 368,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,650,000 after purchasing an additional 14,855 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $96.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.