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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Holdings Boosted by Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC

Merck & Co., Inc. logo with Medical background

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 82.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,367 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the quarter. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,026,412 shares of the company's stock worth $13,606,360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,474 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 75,809,383 shares of the company's stock worth $8,608,914,000 after buying an additional 3,327,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,155,004 shares of the company's stock worth $6,696,060,000 after buying an additional 2,134,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,807,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,785,000 after buying an additional 514,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 17,756,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,016,374,000 after acquiring an additional 309,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.57. The company had a trading volume of 11,512,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,553,397. The company has a market capitalization of $244.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $99.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

View Our Latest Analysis on MRK

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

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