EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 816 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 816 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,372,000 after buying an additional 114,080 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,517,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,739,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.28. 1,192,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,918,222. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $108.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.39. The company has a market capitalization of $248.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued 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 3.30%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 64.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.