Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $99.17 on Friday. 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. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.92. The company has a market cap of $250.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.