Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. Sells 20,149 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 246,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,149 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 2.0% of Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $24,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.6 %

MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $253.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.