HB Wealth Management LLC Has $15.33 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,176 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,405 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the third quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,950 shares of the company's stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 14,698 shares of the company's stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Shayne & Jacobs LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shayne & Jacobs LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. 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. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7 %

MRK stock traded down $2.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.00. The company had a trading volume of 15,879,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,381,323. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.72. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.