Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Heritage Family Offices LLP

Heritage Family Offices LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 26,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Stolper Co lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Stolper Co now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, ERn Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.12 and its 200-day moving average is $110.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $254.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued 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 3.22%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.