Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Sells 3,765 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Key Points

• Cutler Investment Counsel LLC has decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9%, selling 3,765 shares, resulting in a total of 93,310 shares valued at approximately $8.45 million.
• Research analysts have varied ratings on Merck, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.69.
• Merck plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share on October 7th, with a current yield of 3.91% and a payout ratio of 47.16%.

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,310 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,765 shares during the quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,597,456 shares of the company's stock worth $457,361,000 after buying an additional 577,363 shares during the period. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.6% during the 4th quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 59,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 19,831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

MRK stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.27. 11,898,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,513,969. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.66. The stock has a market cap of $199.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

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.