Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $100.75. 2,417,392 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,906,375. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, 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 quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.