Great Diamond Partners LLC Sells 1,451 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Great Diamond Partners LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. GFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 82,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 70,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MRK opened at $98.80 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.83 and a 200 day moving average of $108.00. The firm has a market cap of $249.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 67.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.67.

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.