Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 51,604 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 119,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,604 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $95.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $99.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.02. The company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 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.