Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Brooklyn Investment Group

Brooklyn Investment Group cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,794 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,029,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 8,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 68,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 18,685 shares during the period. Finally, Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 41,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,177,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $100.11 and its 200-day moving average is $110.06. The firm has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Equities 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.