Joule Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Joule Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Joule Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 2,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,701,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $355,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.01 and its 200 day moving average is $109.85. The stock has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

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.