Great Diamond Partners LLC Sells 1,451 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $98.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.