Stone Summit Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Stone Summit Wealth LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,410 shares during the period. Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% in the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.07. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $107.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.