Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,418 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 47,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,891,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.8% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 199,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5 %

MRK stock opened at $99.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.87. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

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.