Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by W Advisors LLC

W Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 75,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 4.7% of W Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,657,000 after purchasing an additional 9,174 shares during the last quarter. Granite FO LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $292,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 53,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $3,330,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

MRK stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. 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. The company has a market cap of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.