Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Trimmed by My Legacy Advisors LLC

My Legacy Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.00 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average is $109.72.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

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.