BSW Wealth Partners Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BSW Wealth Partners decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 312,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,657,000 after buying an additional 9,174 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.34. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

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.