Narwhal Capital Management Has $13.71 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Narwhal Capital Management lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 137,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,946 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $95.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day moving average is $108.69. 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. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (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 prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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.