Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Eagle Global Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,730 shares during the quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.7% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY now owns 3,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 82.1% in the third quarter. BCS Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $110.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.68. The company has a market cap of $275.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $112.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.