Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,115 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. E&G Advisors LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MRK opened at $95.54 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

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.