MCF Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

MCF Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.42. The firm has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.