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

Cheviot Value Management LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,185 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.3% of Cheviot Value Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cheviot Value Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 35,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,717,000 after acquiring an additional 10,179 shares in the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% during the second quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 11,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the second quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 6,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.3% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 12,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the second quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 6,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

MRK opened at $101.50 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.