Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Sells 259 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,417,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,906,375. The company has a market cap of $254.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.18 and a 200 day moving average of $110.57. 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. has a 1 year low of $94.48 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders 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 3.22%. 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 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.