CWA Asset Management Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,332 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,233,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,399,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $933,761,000 after acquiring an additional 422,382 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned 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 an average target price of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

MRK opened at $99.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $252.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $94.48 and a one year high of $134.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given 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 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

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.