AHL Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %
NYSE MRK traded down $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $98.00. 15,879,862 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $247.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.92%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.67.
View Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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