Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.

McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,953 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,675 shares during the quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $99.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.92%.

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.