Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Sold by Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC

Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,608,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,327,404 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11,876.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,971,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,742 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 157.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,264,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610,800 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,388,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $611,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,696,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $100.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.48 and a 52-week 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 $254.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.12.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 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.