Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,737 shares of the company’s stock after selling 894 shares during the quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $325,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Creekside Partners bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $61,256,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $98.85 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.