Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 247,721 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,554,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 247,721 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $176,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $356,000. Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $625,000. Finally, Advisory Resource Group purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $101.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $257.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $106.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.