BigSur Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,710 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.6% of BigSur Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. BigSur Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the third quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.18. 17,752,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,263,390. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $2.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.