Diversify Wealth Management LLC Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,295 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,824 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 10,473 shares of the company's stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares in the last quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC now owns 102,848 shares of the company's stock worth $10,184,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 23,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 15,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $1,788,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE MRK traded down $1.74 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.18. The stock had a trading volume of 17,752,668 shares, 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 quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $99.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.42. The company has a market capitalization of $243.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

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.