RB Capital Management LLC Sells 247 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

RB Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $103.79 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $262.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.20.

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.