Bank of New Hampshire Has $2.25 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank of New Hampshire decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. ShankerValleau Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 106.4% in the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 7,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 79,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,911,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 16,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 177,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,608,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,859,062. The firm has a market cap of $257.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.47. 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. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business 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%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.