Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,218 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,676 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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 $100.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $255.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.