Claro Advisors LLC Sells 2,532 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Claro Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,532 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,501,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 234,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,973,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 71,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,909,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,969,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,616,000 after buying an additional 701,481 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $100.94 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.16 and its 200 day moving average is $110.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.67.

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.