Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Decreases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 47,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,100,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,839,000 after purchasing an additional 390,639 shares during the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% during the second quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 3,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 25,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,648 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.51. 4,301,937 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,657,724. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 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. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.00.

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.