Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Lessened by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 171,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,569 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.33 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $230.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine 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. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.