Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 1,013 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.9% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 34,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 54,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 117,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,305,000 after purchasing an additional 17,458 shares in the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 60,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 38,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7 %

MRK stock opened at $99.18 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $250.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.83.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.57%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.