Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 312 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,759,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836,505 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,649,000 after acquiring an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,102,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,204,000 after acquiring an additional 34,715 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $100.20 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. The company has a market cap of $253.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was 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 is 67.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim decreased their price target 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. Daiwa America lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.