Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 1,267 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 32,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.63%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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.