Annex Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Annex Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,633 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,783 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $27,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,049,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,505 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,837,354 shares of the company's stock worth $208,649,000 after purchasing an additional 62,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,102,540 shares of the company's stock worth $125,204,000 after purchasing an additional 34,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of MRK traded down $2.70 on Monday, reaching $98.00. The stock had a trading volume of 15,879,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. 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 50-day simple moving average of $100.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.67.

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.