Grandfield & Dodd LLC Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,052 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,825 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.9% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $32,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,135,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,966,856. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a market cap of $246.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.