TD Private Client Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

TD Private Client Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,683 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 237.4% during the third quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second 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, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 302.3% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.87.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $110.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $275.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.68. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.08 by ($0.14). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.