Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 585,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,235,000 after purchasing an additional 164,506 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 11,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 114,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Solidarity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $1,860,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $96.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.42. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.