Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Sells 1,570 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.0% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 13,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,421 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,334,000. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.4 %

MRK opened at $118.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $120.04 and its 200 day moving average is $125.16. The stock has a market cap of $300.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 342.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $148.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.