Constitution Capital LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Constitution Capital LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 18,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Bennett Associates Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market cap of $254.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.12 and its 200 day moving average is $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.