Capital Planning Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Capital Planning Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,431 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,858 shares during the period. Capital Planning Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.54. 12,242,285 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,666,592. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average is $99.81 and its 200-day moving average is $109.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $241.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.