Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Sells 575 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 575 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.1% of Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.61. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change 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 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.