Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 1,569 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,569 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 8.8 %

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.99 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.33 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $99.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $230.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $15.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board 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.