Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,266 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,523 shares during the quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 18,885 shares of the company's stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management now owns 2,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,598 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $2.70 on Friday, reaching $98.00. The company had a trading volume of 15,879,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,554,807. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company's fifty day moving average is $100.11 and its 200 day moving average is $110.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.