Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $99.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.10. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $252.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. 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 3.25%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.00.

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.