Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,221,602 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,500 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $138,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of MRK traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.64. The stock had a trading volume of 6,078,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,121,685. The company has a market cap of $257.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $105.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.15. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. 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. (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.