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

Parisi Gray Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 92,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,188,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $255.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG 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 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.16 and a 200-day moving average of $110.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.