Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 68.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,356 shares during the quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MRK opened at $106.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $265.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $107.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.08.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.