Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by M&R Capital Management Inc.

M&R Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 366 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 3.8% of M&R Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 6,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Family Management Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Family Management Corp now owns 3,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.63 and a 1 year high of $115.49. The stock has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.25.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The company had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 51.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 83,994 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $9,431,686.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,555. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,134.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,245 shares of company stock worth $11,168,256 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Atlantic Securities boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $127.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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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.