Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Lessened by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 13,976 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 2,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 368,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,650,000 after purchasing an additional 14,855 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,902,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,262,000 after buying an additional 35,525 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

MRK opened at $96.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.11. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 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.