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

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,514 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,484 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.18. The stock had a trading volume of 17,752,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,263,390. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. 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 firm has a market cap of $243.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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. 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. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

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.