Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stake Lowered by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $98.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.72. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.