Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,849 shares during the quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.