Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 312 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,608,914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,060 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,016,374,000 after purchasing an additional 309,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.20 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.13 and a 200-day moving average of $110.19. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.