Paragon Financial Partners Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $123.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.