Procyon Advisors LLC Sells 2,597 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Procyon Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,597 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 100,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Woodstock Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 125,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,490,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 64,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,461,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $98.00 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.11 and its 200-day moving average is $110.06.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

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.