Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,682 shares of the company’s stock after selling 698 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 45,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $896,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 417,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,399,000 after purchasing an additional 122,590 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,688,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,792,000 after purchasing an additional 44,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 243,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,789,000 after purchasing an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

MRK opened at $97.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.74 and a 200-day moving average of $118.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. 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 quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. 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 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.