Holderness Investments Co. Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Holderness Investments Co. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 111,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,169,000 after acquiring an additional 41,947 shares during the period. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 410,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,859,000 after acquiring an additional 16,837 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $82.67 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.97 and a 200-day moving average of $83.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.