Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,121 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,701,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 3,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.85. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost 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 3.31%. 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.