BBR Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BBR Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. BBR Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $103.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.24. The firm has a market cap of $260.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.